Laura Poitras and Rachel Lauren Mueller Detail ICE Doc They're Here

Oscar-winning filmmaker Laura Poitras and Minneapolis-based journalist Rachel Lauren Mueller have partnered on *They're Here*, an investigative documentary chronicling federal immigration enforcement operations in Minnesota. Speaking to The Hollywood Reporter, the co-directors explained their deliberate choice to structure the non-fiction project using narrative conventions familiar to the horror genre.

The feature documents the grassroots resistance movement that emerged in Minneapolis in response to paramilitary tactics employed by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Poitras and Mueller trace how aggressive federal sweeps altered neighborhood dynamics and fostered widespread community dread.

At the core of the documentary is an examination of the lethal outcomes tied to these enforcement actions, including the fatal shootings of Renée Good and Alex Pretti. The film reconstructs the circumstances surrounding their deaths while scrutinizing the operational mandates governing federal agents on the ground.

## Stylistic Approach to State Surveillance

Mueller and Poitras told The Hollywood Reporter that conveying the psychological reality of targeted communities required a departure from traditional cinema verite methods. By borrowing visual cues, pacing, and sound design techniques from horror cinema, the directors aimed to mirror the pervasive fear and sudden disruption experienced by residents facing federal intervention.

The project underscores a persistent appetite among high-profile non-fiction directors to utilize genre framing to present contentious political subject matter. For Poitras, whose prior credits include *Citizenfour* and *All the Beauty and the Bloodshed*, the film represents an ongoing commitment to investigative storytelling during an era of significant contraction across independent documentary distribution.