An SF Journalist Took Photos of ICE Officers. Then He Was Asked to Blur Their Faces

When Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers arrested four people outside the immigration court in downtown San Francisco this week, reporter Tomoki Chien was there to take cellphone photos and videos of the officers, some of whom wore sunglasses and masks that concealed their faces.

Chien, whose story for the San Francisco Standard published with those images, said he was surprised when he received a request from ICE to blur the officers’ faces after the fact.

“The interaction was not confrontational,” he said. “There was no confrontation or sense of hostility between us during that exchange.”

After the story was published, ICE spokesperson Richard Beam reached out to ask about blurring the faces.

“I fully respect the media’s right to take and use photos taken in a public s