South Floridians turn to social media to track ICE, share resources
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With official information scarce, many in South Florida are turning to social media to track the Trump administration's immigration crackdown, sharing updates on possible ICE agent sightings, checkpoints and raids.
Why it matters: The collective effort aims to undermine immigration officials' attempt to detain undocumented migrants while also informing individuals about their rights should they encounter law enforcement officers.
The big picture: Organizations, including the Florida Immigrant Coalition (FLIC), are leaning on social media to post "Know Your Rights" flyers and contact information for ICE Watch response hotlines.
- At same time, ad hoc social media accounts have been posting videos of possible raids, in addition to individual rights information.
Case in point: The Instagram account "I.C.E Watch Miami" popped up in recent days to keep "an updated record of where ICE has been, but also offer resources to help mitigate harm," Jessie, the page's creator, told Axios.
- Jessie, who asked to use only his first name for fear of retaliation, said he noticed friends posting or reposting ICE sightings and wanted to "consolidate all the information into one place."
- The account explains how to report a possible ICE sighting, including contacting the local rapid response network and sharing a photo, timestamp and the street location to prevent the spread of misinformation.
Yes, but: Verifying ICE activity remains difficult — and many accounts that have spread online have been false, whether because of phony tips from "bad actors" or a community that is stressed or panicked, Adriana Rivera, communications director at FLIC, told Axios.
- Social media is "an easy avenue to fall into misinformation, and that has to be taken seriously," she said. "We have to be careful to not feed into the hysteria [and have to be] a lot more rigorous than the pages that pop up."
Meanwhile, elsewhere across the country, folks are using TikTok to alert community members of an ICE sighting, Axios' Sabrino Moreno writes.
- In some videos, TikTokkers are using code words like "cute winter boots" or "ICE cream trucks," which they say is a censorship-evading technique, to boost their reach.
- Others have used the app to link to a U.S. map of unconfirmed immigration agent sightings with photos called "People Over Papers."
The bottom line: Rivera isn't surprised residents are turning to social media for information, saying, "It's the new town square."
- Nevertheless, she said, with the administration targeting both undocumented and documented residents, "it's more imperative than ever that information online is accurate."