Staying Safe on Assignment: Navigating Law Enforcement and Digital Risks
Published November 25, 2025
This resource is sponsored by:
Reporting in the field increasingly exposes journalists to complex safety, legal, and digital challenges — from covering ICE operations and protests to navigating surveillance tools and law enforcement encounters in cities like Los Angeles, Chicago, and beyond. Recent discussions among journalists have highlighted real and pressing concerns — from how reporters can safely navigate interactions with ICE, to how to distinguish between agencies such as ICE, local police, and the National Guard.
On Nov. 20, 2025, staff from the International Women’s Media Foundation (IWMF) led a practical session on assessing and managing these risks.
The video is available to view as a whole training, and is also divided into the following sections that you can click to find on the video screen:
- 0:13 – Welcome and intro
- 02:31 – Digital security and risks
- 06:21 – Haitian Times case study
- 07:28 – Doing a digital security assessment
- This section corresponds to IWMF’s Checklist for Protecting Staff Data
- 17:44 – Protecting sources, accounts and devices
- 27:35 – Addressing Harm from Online Violence
- 32:23 – Risk Mitigation 101
- 35:45 – Department of Homeland Security breakdown: ICE (ERO and HSI) and CBP
- 47:42 – Other federal law enforcement
- 48:11 – Targeting factors during ICE raids or border patrols
- 51:25 – Situational awareness
- 55:24 – What to bring when covering ICE/border patrol raids
- 56:50 – PDM: positioning, distance, movement
- 01:00:45 – What to bring when covering protests
- 01:05:29 – Five safety practices for covering protests
- 01:08:31 – Protest security force tactics
- 01:11:48 – Protective gear sources
- 01:14:49 – Protecting video/photography equipment
- 01:16:15 – Tips for being in containment
- 01:17:42 – What to do if a reporter is detained (tips for the reporter and for managers/editors)
- 01:21:14 – Officer interactions
- 01:23:20 – Feedback & future trainings
- After viewing, please share your feedback with IWMF.
This training is part of a larger safety and security series brought to you in partnership with the International Women’s Media Foundation and is generously supported by the Ford Foundation. Our next session in this series will take place on on Thursday, Dec. 4 at 2:00 p.m. ET (convert to your time zone) and will address Legal Rights and Risks for Journalists Covering Immigration Enforcement. Learn more and register.
