Documentary Seeks to 'Denormalise' Violence in Trump's Immigration Raids

Oscar-winning filmmaker Laura Poitras presents 'They're Here', a 25-minute documentary highlighting U.S. immigration raids under Trump's administration. Premiering at the Venice Film Festival, the film follows Minneapolis volunteers as they track ICE agents. It aims to 'denormalise' violence and document community resistance against deportations.

Oscar-winning filmmaker Laura Poitras hopes her new documentary, 'They're Here', will challenge the normalization of violence under President Donald Trump's mass deportation efforts. The film, co-directed with Rachel Lauren Mueller, made its debut at the Venice Film Festival.

The 25-minute documentary focuses on volunteers in Minneapolis tracking Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents during deportation operations. It captures intense confrontations between protesters and ICE officers, including the tragic shooting of two U.S. citizens by immigration officers.

'They're Here' switches between local volunteers plotting ICE team's movements and the narrative of a Mexican man hiding from authorities with his son. The film documents Minneapolis's broader grassroots response, which partially succeeded in reducing ICE presence after significant public resistance.