Video doesn't show Black kids protecting Latino neighbors from ICE officer. Here's evidence

Claim: A video authentically shows Black children throwing water balloons, shooting water guns and dumping water on a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer to protect Latino neighbors. In July 2026, people alleged a video showed Black children protecting Latino neighbors from a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer. The clip featured multiple young-looking Black people throwing water balloons, shooting water guns and dumping water on a man wearing what appeared to be a uniform and a tactical vest. For example, on July 24, a TikTok user's post (archived) described the video as showing "a group of Black children in an apartment complex who told their Latino neighbors to stay inside because ICE was in the complex looking for immigrants." Other users shared the video, or the rumor itself, on Bluesky (archived), Facebook (archived), Imgur (archived), Instagram (archived), X (archived) and several other platforms. At least one post alleged the videographer captured the clip in New Jersey, while others said Oklahoma. In sum, research confirmed the video was genuine, in the sense that the clip did not display signs of artificial intelligence or other digital-editing manipulation. The video's caption, however, promoted a false, politically charged rumor. Snopes found multiple data points — all spelled out later in this article — that collectively confirmed the man in the clip did not work for ICE. No credible evidence suggested the people in the video were protecting Latino neighbors from the man they soaked with water. The clip showed a water fight with college-aged Black men and women at the Rams Edge apartment complex, formerly The Scene at Sandhill, which provides off-campus housing for the Albany State University, a historically Black institution in Albany, Georgia. An X search for the words "Rams Edge" found a user with the handle @LuhhSalo, an apparent eyewitness of the water fight who made a post identifying (archived) the man people mislabeled as an ICE officer as "off campus housing security." According to that user, the officer smiled (archived) about the situation. In a post with a video, the same user called (archived) the rumor "false information," talked about combatting misinformation and shared an alternate angle of what he called the apartment complex's "water wars." That alternate angle, appearing at the end of this clip, provided credibility to the user's account of the events: Users reposting the video as early as March 2026 labeled the man as a police officer, security guard or security officer. Those posts did not mention ICE. Specific descriptions about ICE appeared to only begin showing up in posts months later. We have not yet identified who filmed the video or the exact date of filming. A U.S. Department of Homeland Security spokesperson told us by email, "This is not an ICE officer in the video." Albany Police Department spokesperson Sylah Ferguson similarly said by phone the video did not show one of the city's officers. The Albany State University Police Department declined to comment. Rams Edge did not yet return our calls and emails, nor did @LuhhSalo yet respond to our X messages asking for more information. We will update this story if we uncover any other information. Researching the rumor Reverse image searches helped to a find Instagram and Reddit reposts featuring users' comments identifying the location as Albany State University. An image search for housing near the historically-Black university found a match for the Rams Edge off-campus housing complex. The Rams Edge website features an amenities page mentioning the apartments' "24/7 Onsite Security Patrol," and it's possible the individual in the vest was one of these security officers. The possibility that the person was a university police officer also exists, based on our findings. According to the Albany State University Police Department's public records, officers or staff visited Rams Edge (labeled "The Scene at Sandhill Apartments") at least seven times since January 2025, with the "nature" of calls described as shots fired, assisting another agency, weapon possession, community contact and wellness checks. Google Maps Street View appeared to show Rams Edge located in the thick of university campus property, though the complex is still considered off-campus. The oldest post (archived) found yet in the reverse image searches displayed a March 25 date, about two weeks following the university's spring break from March 9-14. The post's caption read, "Crowd was spotted dumping water on a security guard during outdoor party." Other users' popular posts from March (archived) and May (archived) labeled the man either as a "security officer" or "police officer." Further reposts from March, April and May made no mention of ICE or immigration officers. In the video, the unidentified man's apparent uniform and vest did not display the yellow or white letters for "POLICE" or "ICE," as well as other clothing and gear ICE officers have sometimes worn. (Some reports have described immigration officers as dressing undercover and in a manner similar to civilian attire.) We did not yet identify the name of the man appearing in the video, nor did we verify his specific job title. The man's black shirt possibly matched polo shirts appearing in university police officer photos. For further reading, we previously reported what we know about July 2026 allegations regarding men impersonating ICE agents in Oregon reportedly stopping and assaulting a driver.