Oscar-winning filmmaker Laura Poitras premiered her latest documentary, "They're Here," at the 83rd Venice Film Festival on September 7, 2026. The 25-minute film provides a visceral look at the intense community resistance that emerged in Minneapolis earlier this year in response to aggressive deportation operations conducted by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents.
Co-directed by Poitras and Rachel Lauren Mueller, the documentary serves as an urgent, immediate response to the mass deportation campaign launched by President Donald Trump in January 2025. Poitras, who previously won the Golden Lion at Venice in 2022 for "All the Beauty and the Bloodshed," stated that the project was designed to challenge the normalization of state-led violence against immigrant communities in the United States.
Documenting the Minneapolis Resistance
The film utilizes a ground-level perspective, primarily following local volunteers in Minneapolis who organized to track the movements of ICE teams during the height of the city's deportation sweeps. By cutting between the dispatch networks used by these volunteers and the personal narrative of a Mexican man hiding from authorities with his son, the documentary captures the high-stakes environment of the operation. The footage includes scenes of masked agents confronting protesters on snow-covered streets and the subsequent detention of individuals.
Mueller emphasized that the primary goal of the community response was safety rather than direct confrontation. "The resistance remained one of documentation more than anything else, precisely because it was about keeping people safe rather than fighting ICE," Mueller explained during a news conference. The filmmakers aimed to highlight the human cost of the administration's policies while showcasing the efficacy of organized local action in protecting vulnerable neighbors from being taken into custody.
Challenging the Normalization of State Violence
Poitras has been vocal about the political intent behind the film, framing it as a necessary intervention against the mainstream media's portrayal of the deportation campaign. "In the mainstream media, this kind of violence is being normalised," Poitras told reporters in Venice. "We believe very strongly in the power of cinema to denormalise this violence and to show what's happening." She described the current reality for immigrants in the U.S. as a "nightmare" characterized by widespread fear.
The documentary's short runtime was a deliberate creative choice, reflecting the filmmakers' desire to bypass the lengthy production cycles typical of feature-length projects. By prioritizing speed, Poitras and Mueller sought to bring the realities of the Minneapolis sweeps to an international audience while the political situation remained volatile. The film stands as a direct critique of the administration's defense of ICE tactics, which have been a cornerstone of the President's domestic agenda since his inauguration.
Impact of Community Action on ICE Operations
The Minneapolis crackdown became a significant flashpoint in the national debate over immigration enforcement, leading to weeks of sustained protests and confrontations. According to the filmmakers, the persistent community-led documentation and resistance efforts yielded tangible results. Mueller noted that the administration eventually scaled back its operations in the city, with ICE reportedly removing 80% of its agents from the area following the period of intense unrest.
This drawdown is presented in the film as a testament to the power of local mobilization. While the broader national deportation campaign continues, the Minneapolis experience serves as a case study for how community networks can effectively challenge federal enforcement efforts. The filmmakers hope that by documenting these events, they can provide a blueprint for resistance and offer a sense of hope to other communities facing similar pressures under the current administration's policies.
Future Implications for Immigration Policy
As the documentary begins its festival run, it raises broader questions about the long-term sustainability of the current deportation strategy. The film highlights the human toll of the raids, including the tragic deaths of two U.S. citizens during clashes between protesters and immigration officers in Minneapolis. These incidents have fueled ongoing national debates regarding the limits of executive power and the role of local communities in protecting their residents from federal overreach.
While the film focuses on the specific events in Minneapolis, its themes resonate with the ongoing national tension surrounding the administration's immigration agenda. The success of the community resistance in forcing a drawdown of ICE agents remains a point of contention and a subject of intense political scrutiny. As the documentary reaches wider audiences, it is expected to further polarize the discourse on whether such local interventions are a necessary check on federal authority or an obstruction of national law enforcement priorities.
