An ICE arrest at SLC airport sparked debate about bystander action. Here’s what Utah’s leading civil rights group says is allowed.

Utah author Shannon Hale was traveling through Salt Lake City International Airport on Wednesday when she heard the cries of a woman near the entrance to the main security screening checkpoint.

She asked an airport employee what was going on and was told it was U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement arresting the woman, she told The Salt Lake Tribune on Thursday.

[Read more: Salt Lake City mayor, council leaders broadly condemn ICE airport arrest in ‘gateway to our state.’]

“At that point, I said something about, ‘Someone needs to help her, we need to help her,’ and then I started filming,” Hale said. “The police officer looked back at me and moved between me and what was going on. He seemed like he saw that I was getting out my camera, and he was watching the whole time.”

When asked about Hale’s characterization of the officer’s actions, Salt Lake City Police Department spokesperson Glen Mills said the officer responded to the arrest not knowing what was going on.

“He heard a commotion, went over to check out what was happening,” Mills said. “One of the ICE members came over to him, identified himself, showed him his badge, and that is when he backed off, because we do not have jurisdiction over a federal agency.”

The video that Hale later posted sparked a conversation online about the role — if any — of bystanders who witness ICE arrests. Hale said she had not been sure of how to approach the encounter when she saw it unfolding.

After filming the video, she said, she was shaken. Hale wanted to help, she said, but she felt powerless.

“I felt like I couldn’t do anything,” Hale said. “I feel like I failed her. Looking back, I don’t know what I still could have done.”

What bystanders can do

In hindsight, Hale said, she wishes she had thought to ask the woman’s name, or run after her to get more information for the woman’s family.

“Honestly,” she said, “I was shaking so hard I didn’t feel like I could walk.”

Hale and others who witness ICE arrests do have rights, said Ellie Menlove, the director of policy for the Utah chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union.

“You do have rights if you want to help,” Menlove said. “So, the first thing that we would suggest you do in line with your First Amendment rights is to try to record the interaction on your phone from a safe distance.”

Regardless of whether bystanders film an ICE encounter, Menlove suggested they collect identifying information about the arrest, like agents’ license plate numbers, badge numbers and what arresting agents say to the detainee. She advised witnesses to write down everything they heard and saw during the arrest, too.

Bystanders also have a right to be in the same place as agents making an arrest if it is a public space as long as they don’t interfere with ICE’s actions, Menlove said. Witnesses, if they are so inclined, can also interact with the person being arrested, including asking them how to contact their family, getting their name or reminding them of their rights, she said.

Given that ICE officers do not have to identify themselves to bystanders as they make an arrest, and sometimes wear masks as they do so, Menlove said witnesses are within their rights to call 911 if they suspect a criminal abduction is taking place.

What experts say not to do

A bystander to an ICE arrest should not interfere or obstruct agents, the National Immigrant Justice Center, an immigration advocacy nonprofit, said in a guide. Making physical contact with or hitting ICE agents is not allowed. Menlove also advised bystanders to remain calm and refrain from escalating the situation further.

“ICE misconduct can’t be challenged on the street or in the field in real time,” she said. “So, just keep that in mind, and we place an emphasis on recording what you’re seeing.”

If ICE agents ask witnesses to step back, Menlove urged calm compliance. If the federal officers otherwise escalate the encounter, Menlove said, bystanders should be respectful, refrain from running away and calmly leave if they aren’t being detained. She also mentioned that witnesses can tell agents they are exercising their rights.

Even if bystanders’ actions stay within their rights, any action — even recording — does carry risk, Menlove cautioned. A witness could be arrested or their property could be searched.

Menlove said bystanders who capture information during an arrest can share it with a local immigration hotline, like La Red de Solidaridad, if they so choose. She warned against sharing an ICE detainee’s name on social media without the consent of the person’s family.