ICE crackdown laid bare at Venice festival documentary
Filmmaker Laura Poitras premiered a documentary at the Venice Film Festival that tracks U.S. immigration raids, aiming to challenge the normalization of violence under mass deportation policies. The film highlights the experiences of volunteers and immigrants during recent ICE operations in Minneapolis.
Why it matters
The documentary brings international attention to the human rights implications of U.S. immigration enforcement and the role of media in shaping public perception of state violence.
VENICE — Oscar-winning filmmaker Laura Poitras said on Monday she hopes a new documentary about U.S. immigration raids will help “denormalize” violence under President Donald Trump’s mass deportation campaign. Premiering at the Venice Film Festival, the 25-minute documentary “They’re Here”, co-directed by Poitras and Rachel Lauren Mueller, follows volunteers in Minneapolis as they track the movements of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents conducting deportation operations earlier this year. “The reality is a nightmare. The entire country is under attack and immigrants are living in fear throughout the United States right now,” Poitras said ahead of the screening. Confronting protesters in the snow Trump launched his deportation drive immediately after taking office in January 2025. He has defended ICE’s tactics and argued that people who entered the U.S. illegally must be sent home.
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