Donald Trump pledged to carry out “the largest domestic deportation operation in American history” if elected for a second presidential term. His administration acted on those promises, deporting more than half a million people in 2025, but rather than the glowing cheers of a campaign rally, the public is recoiling in disgust as violent immigration crackdowns flout the nation’s most basic constitutional liberties in plain view.

With administration officials saying agents are immune to accountability, many are understandably wondering: What rights do I have when interacting with federal immigration forces, and do those rights even matter in an environment where free speech or simply existing in my own neighborhood can be met with violence? We spoke with civil rights attorneys to find some answers and learn more about what the public — and legislators — can do to push back against unchecked federal power.

Illegal immigration campaigns turn deadly

Thousands of masked federal agents have been deployed into residential neighborhoods using aggressive tactics that local officials say threaten public safety. Videos posted to social media show immigration agents threatening and physically assaulting people for exercising their First Amendment right to peacefully assemble in public places or record the agents’ interactions with their neighbors. People have reported agents forcing their way inside their homes without a warrant or stopping them on the street because of how they look.

At least 32 people died in federal immigration custody last year, by far the most in over two decades. Advocates and those released from detention centers report unsafe conditions, medical neglect, and physical and sexual abuse of detainees, including children. Outside, agents have shot at least 13 people on the street and during raids over the past five months alone. Four of them died, including the two U.S. citizens killed in Minneapolis this month, Renee Good and Alex Pretti, both 37 years old.

As people take to the streets in protest of what’s happening, many are being met with violence for holding signs, blowing whistles or recording with their cell phones. What these brave people are doing is protected by the U.S. Constitution, but it’s still increasingly dangerous.

“These horrific murders that are now being discussed across the country, we wouldn’t know what went on except for the fact that citizens on the front line made sure the world knew,” said David H. Gans, a constitutional litigator and scholar. “If you think back to the killing of George Floyd in 2020, it was the same thing. Someone had the courage to record that encounter, and so we know what happened.”

Do I have the right to film immigration agents?

The Department of Homeland Security has claimed it’s illegal to film Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agents, but federal courts disagree.

“If law enforcement officers, whether they’re ICE or state officers, retaliate because individuals are recording them, that is a violation of the First Amendment,” said Gans, who directs the Human Rights, Civil Rights, and Citizenship Program at the Constitutional Accountability Center. “Retaliation against an individual for exercising First Amendment rights is something that courts regularly find to be unconstitutional.”

Keep in mind that while filming is protected, interfering with agents’ activities is not. What constitutes interference will vary based on circumstances, Gans said, but legal experts generally recommend you keep a distance from agents while recording and do not touch them or block their path.

Can immigration agents enter my home without a warrant?

“One of the most basic guarantees of the Fourth Amendment is the security of your home,” Gans said. “It goes back to the founding when British officers had writs of assistance which allowed them to break into homes with their own unfettered discretion. If you read what the Supreme Court says about the meaning of the Fourth Amendment, one of the most basic ideas is that, without a judicial warrant, the police can’t simply break into your home.”

A judicial warrant is signed by a judge and permits law enforcement to enter a specific residence associated with a specific person because there is credible evidence of a crime. But an internal ICE memo, released in May and made public by whistleblowers last week, told agents they can enter homes with only an administrative warrant signed by an ICE supervisor.

“An immigration administrative warrant is just the Department of Homeland Security signing off on its own paperwork,” said Len Kamdang, director of the Criminal Justice Project at the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law. “The Fourth Amendment requires a neutral and detached judge to review and sign off on a warrant. This is a critical check against law enforcement abuses of power. This is plainly illegal.”

Gans added: “Instead of those protections that are so fundamental, it seems like we’re repeating the abuses that produced the Fourth Amendment” in the first place.

Even so, immigration agents have been forcing their way inside homes without consent and with only administrative warrants since the summer, officials told NBC News. If agents come to your door, you do not have to open it. You do not have to speak to them, even if they ask you questions or force their way inside. Whether on the street or in your home, “you can always ask a law enforcement officer, ‘Am I free to leave?’ and if the answer is yes, then you can walk away,” Kamdang said. “If the answer is not, then you can immediately ask for a lawyer and invoke your right to counsel.”

Do immigration agents really have immunity if they hurt people?

Earlier this month, Vice President JD Vance said the agents who shot and killed Renee Good were “protected by absolute immunity,” but the law does not support this.

“There’s no legal doctrine that gives immigration agents a free pass to assault people or violate constitutional rights,” Kamdang said. He called the vice president’s claims about absolute immunity “flat wrong,” and the administration appeared to backtrack from them in recent statements.

While immigration agents don’t have a free pass, current law does make it difficult to challenge them in court if your rights are violated. “If a state police officer brutalizes you, you can go to federal court and invoke a law passed during Reconstruction known as Section 1983 that allows individuals who are deprived of their constitutional rights under color of state law to file a lawsuit,” Gans explained. “That happens every day of the week. Courts around the country hear those claims.”

The Supreme Court extended this remedy to include violations by federal officers in 1971, but the current court under Chief Justice John Roberts has departed from that precedent.

“We’ve seen case after case where the Roberts court has gutted this federal remedy and refused to allow individuals victimized by federal agents to sue. They’ve said there can only be a right to sue if Congress explicitly provides one,” Gans said. “Congress has the power to quite easily change the law to make sure that individuals who are deprived of their constitutional rights by federal agents can go to court to vindicate those rights and receive redress.”

What can I do if I don’t agree with what’s happening? What should Congress do?

As is often said, freedom isn’t free, and if you don’t agree with what you see happening, you can and should raise your voice. “Our constitutional system depends not only on institutions like courts and legislatures. We all have a role in upholding the rights that our constitution guarantees,” Gans said.

Go outside to protest, record or observe what’s happening in your neighborhood. Even as the administration promises to “de-escalate” its campaign in Minnesota following Alex Pretti’s death, federal presence is reportedly ramping up in cities like Los Angeles, San Diego and Philadelphia. Just like in Minneapolis, they’re being met with protests.

“I study constitutional history, and it brings to mind the fights over slavery and fugitive slaves before the Civil War when Black people were at risk of being kidnapped. It was very much organizing and action that sought to protect people and their freedom,” Gans said. “In the same way, we’re seeing a lot of courageous actions in Minneapolis to protect immigrant communities from being terrorized, to ensure safety, and to ensure that the scope of the civil rights abuses are known by people across the U.S. and in the world.”

Stay safe. If you plan to protest, stay aware of your surroundings and be mindful of your safety. “Peaceful protest is protected speech. You are not powerless in the face of a uniform,” Kamdang said. “The level of participation in protests nationwide is inspiring. At the same time, safety must come first. If you encounter an officer who is intent on violating the law, being legally right may not protect you in that moment. Prioritize your safety.”

Stay home. If you do not feel comfortable protesting for whatever reason, there’s still plenty you can do to make your voice heard. Organizers in Minneapolis and across the country are planning a general strike on Friday, calling on people to stay home from work or school, avoid shopping, and stay away from online platforms where their attention can be monetized through ads. While hundreds of demonstrations are planned across the country, simply withholding your labor, money and attention on that day helps build the movement’s influence.

Call your representatives. Congress is set to pass a government funding package before the end of the month. Advocates and legal experts are calling on lawmakers to vote against any new funding for ICE or CBP without greater oversight into immigration enforcement activities.

“No new funding should be approved without real oversight, independent investigations into killings by federal agents, and enforceable pathways to hold federal law enforcement accountable in civil court,” Kamdang said. “There is no constitutional carve-out for federal law enforcement. The Constitution binds every badge — federal, state and local — and Congress should enact laws that finally make that principle real.”