The Horror of Familiarity: Laura Poitras and Rachel Lauren Mueller’s Unsettling Portrayal of ICE Occupation

Laura Poitras’ latest documentary, They’re Here, has been making waves in Venice with its cinematic portrayal of life under ICE occupation. By employing the tropes of horror cinema to depict the reality of ICE raids and surveillance, Poitras and co-director Rachel Lauren Mueller have created a film that critiques the normalization of violence in news coverage while exploring resistance.

The use of genre is striking, conveying the sense of unease and dread that pervades the lives of those living in fear of ICE raids. The film’s depiction of masked agents patrolling quiet streets, dragging shackled prisoners onto planes, and hiding in car trunks creates tension and claustrophobia through masterful building.

This use of genre also underscores how ICE occupation has become normalized. By employing familiar horror tropes – balaclava-clad agents, eerie surveillance atmospheres – Poitras and Mueller highlight the ways in which ICE occupation is a grimly quotidian reality for many Americans. As Poitras notes, “there’s a sense that the news normalizes this violence by repeating the same clips over and over.” Horror cinema allows They’re Here to critique media culture’s desensitizing effect on egregious state violence.

Furthermore, the documentary highlights how ICE occupation is not just localized but symptomatic of broader patterns of state violence. Drawing on sci-fi dystopian tropes – think Children of Men or The Handmaid’s Tale – They’re Here reveals a grimly familiar vision of America rapidly devolving into a police state.

Poitras and Mueller’s commitment to protecting the identities of those they filmed is also noteworthy. Using encryption, anonymization, and redaction creates intimacy and immediacy while conveying the risks taken by individuals speaking out against ICE occupation.

They’re Here intervenes crucially in conversations around ICE occupation, as Poitras notes: “we have a belief in documenting resistance.” But what kind of resistance does this represent? Simply documenting communities organizing to resist ICE raids or is there something more at stake?

To me, They’re Here offers a powerful vision of everyday Americans – not just activists or organizers but ordinary citizens living in fear of ICE occupation – taking action to resist violence. This film highlights the ways in which our media culture influences how we think about violence and resistance.

Watching They’re Here reminds us that the horror of ICE occupation is not distant but all too familiar – and real. It’s a reminder that our media culture has a profound impact on how we think about violence and resistance, and it’s up to us to create a more nuanced understanding of what’s at stake here.

The most unsettling aspect of They’re Here is its implication that this horror isn’t limited to the lives of those living under ICE occupation but reflects broader patterns of state violence threatening all of us. This demands our collective attention and action.