Two people have been killed this month in Minnesota while monitoring the activity of immigration officials, but that hasn't deterred tens of thousands of others who appear eager to volunteer for similar roles.
More than 147,000 people all over the country signed up for an online training session on Jan. 26, learning how to lawfully monitor and record immigration arrests. The next training, run by national protest and organizing groups, is scheduled for Feb. 5.
Since the immigration surge in Minneapolis began in December, organized neighbors have tracked immigration agents through private messaging groups, warned immigrant neighbors using whistles and car horns when arrests appear imminent, and filmed arrests to provide a record of the encounters.
Two of those observers, Renee Nicole Good and Alex Pretti, were shot and killed by immigration agents. Trump administration officials have referred to both as "domestic terrorists" who should not have interfered.
The trainings are a way for the groups to help prepare Americans for how to respond when and if immigration enforcement arrives in their areas to conduct large-scale deportations, said Ezra Levin, co-founder of Indivisible, a civic organizing group that helped lead the trainings.
