20 Jan People Have the Power
Say Their Names. See Them Here.
Our short above shows a Day of the Dead altar commemorating the 32 people who died in ICE detention in 2025, the deadliest year in two decades for people in ICE custody. The altar was created by immigrant rights advocates in Danbury, CT where we were invited to show BORDERLAND | The Line Within last November. BORDERLAND has become a core film in the immigrant rights movement.
We’ve all heard about and are outraged at the murder of Renee Good in Minneapolis. This tragic killing marks an escalation of ICE’s violence in our communities. This month there have been sixteen ICE related shootings and already six immigrants have died in ICE custody.* Renee’s killing has drawn so much ire because it was thoroughly documented by multiple eyewitnesses with video, inspiring hundreds of thousands of people to take the streets in anguished protests. The public’s right to record police activity has long been established in the U.S. however, ICE is trying to take this right away. We cannot let this happen.
“You have an absolute right to peacefully film ICE agents as they conduct these activities…. Help us create a database of the atrocities against Minnesotans, not just to establish a record for posterity, but to bank evidence for future prosecution.” — Governor Tim Walz (Minnesota)
Protest against ICE and for Renee Good on Fifth Avenue, NYC, Jan. 11, 2026. Photo by Danny Arensberg.
We are documenting these violations as part of our new film and community truth telling project, BORDERLAND | Underground. We are gathering and archiving thousands of eyewitness video accounts of ICE’s violent and illegal tactics. We are also organizing Community Truth Commissions, guided by the Truth Tellers Hub, to create a replicable model to be shared across the country. Through these hearings, communities will document testimonies from immigrants, neighbors, business leaders, educators, and more about how the war on immigrants is being used to sow fear, undermine local economies, and dismantle democracy. Together we will build a powerful archive for historical memory and future accountability.
We invite you to collaborate with us as we create this truth telling project.
Over the last year and a half, at hundreds of screenings of BORDERLAND | The Line Within, we saw people stand up for human rights and push back against the government’s cruel and inhumane policies. Today marks one year since Trump took office, and as we explored in the film, his administration’s plans to extend ICE’s power everywhere across the U.S., not just at its borders, is becoming clear. BORDERLAND | The Line Within has become an integral part of local communities’ fundraising efforts to strengthen the movement for immigrant and human rights. BORDERLAND | Underground will contribute further to this movement building.
Skylight is a 501c3 nonprofit organization, and your contributions will support this quest for truth. For a donation of $1,000 or more you will be credited as a Truth Producer in the BORDERLAND | Underground film. Donations of $500 will receive a Truth Seeker credit, and for donations of any amount, we will credit you as a Supporter. And if you are interested in learning more about setting up or participating in a Community Truth Commission, we want to hear from you – email us here.
Sources:
The Guardian “2025 was ICE’s deadliest year in two decades. Here are the 32 people who died in custody.”
Reuters, “Four migrants die in US immigration custody over first 10 days of 2026”
BorderReport, “3rd detainee dies at Camp East Montana”
