"Immigration Nation," a six-part Netflix documentary, began filming in 2017, its creators embedded within US Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
The documentary shows ICE agents lying to immigrants, illegally breaking into a home, and expressing joy at being told to "arrest as many people as possible," The New York Times reported.
The Trump administration tried to block the work from being released until after the 2020 election, according to The Times.
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The Trump administration fought to prevent the release of a new Netflix documentary that provides a behind-the-scenes look at its immigration policy in action, The New York Times reported Thursday.
Filmmakers Shaul Schwarz and Christina Clusiau began work on the project soon after President Trump was inaugurated, embedding with US Immigration and Customs Enforcement and given "rare access to parts of the country's powerful immigration enforcement machinery that are usually invisible to the public," The Times reported.
Although the project was approved by ICE leadership, the Trump administration sought to block the release of the final product until after the 2020 election — and to prevent the release of certain segments altogether.
According to The Times, the six-part documentary shows "ICE officers lying to immigrants to gain access to their homes," and depicts one officer "illegally picking the lock to an apartment building during a raid."
And while the agency publicly claimed to be prioritizing the deportation of murderers and rapists, The Times reported that "the filmmakers observed numerous occasions in which officers expressed satisfaction after being told by supervisors to arrest as many people as possible, even those without criminal records."
A spokesperson for ICE, Jenny Burke told The Times the agency "wholeheartedly disputes the allegations brought forward by filmmakers of this production" and denied the claims.
But the agency was not able to stop its release: "Immigration Nation" is set to appear on Netflix in August.
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Saintx95 on July 24th, 2020 at 15:29 UTC »
I’m all for border security and maintaining it but I still believe that any agency , especially federal, should follow the proper and legal steps to conduct their procedures. It’s the first step in making sure they never think we, the American citizens, are going to allow such measures go unnoticed and think we’re all sheep.
The_Abyss_Blinked on July 24th, 2020 at 13:40 UTC »
Where’s all my, “most transparent administration ever,” and free speech warriors at?
Number2WagonCircler on July 24th, 2020 at 12:35 UTC »
Trump is thoroughly unsurprising, he's already perpetually cranky about the First Amendment. What surprises me is ICE, did they seriously think that illegal raids would make them look good?