WASHINGTON – A national coalition of left-leaning advocacy groups led by the ACLU hosted a Monday night virtual training dubbed “Eyes on ICE: Document and Record,” urging supporters to document federal immigration operations, even as Washington barrels toward a Jan. 30 funding deadline that could trigger a partial government shutdown tied to DHS spending.
The mass call, promoted through ACLU channels and allied organizers, framed “public oversight” of ICE and Border Patrol as essential after two deadly encounters in Minneapolis involving federal agents: the weekend shooting of Alex Pretti, 37, and the Jan. 7 shooting of Renée Good, 37, also by an ICE agent.
“Know your rights” — but don’t interfere
Speakers and materials tied to the training repeatedly emphasized a point civil libertarian have pushed for years: Americans generally have a First Amendment right to record law enforcement performing duties in public, including federal agents, so long as they don’t cross legal lines like trespassing or physically interfering.
But the call’s core message was also a warning: recording is not a license to engage.
That’s significant because federal officials have described both Minneapolis incidents as escalating when protesters moved from observing to direct confrontation.
- In the Pretti case, DHS claimed an “armed suspect” approached agents, an “armed struggle” followed, and the suspect “violently resisted” as agents tried to disarm him, language the agency used to justify the shooting as “defensive.”
- In the Good case, federal officials said the ICE officer fired after Good attempted to run him over; her defenders dispute that characterization, pointing to video and arguing she was steering away.
De-escalation playbook: distance, compliance, and documentation
The training encouraged participants to film from a safer position and prioritize de-escalation, advice consistent with ACLU “know your rights” guidance that stresses staying calm, not escalating, and avoiding actions police can claim are interference.
Presenters also warned about digital privacy and evidence preservation, including the basic rule that police generally need a warrant to search for the contents of a cellphone.
Whistles, warnings — and the gray areas
One topic raised by organizers nationwide is the growing use of audible alerts (whistles, honking, shouted warnings) when agents are spotted. Reporting on the expanding “ICE watcher” networks notes that while observation and recording are protected, tactics that veer into disrupting operations can slide into legal gray areas, including potential obstruction claims depending on conduct and intent.
Politics: activists push senators as DHS funding fight heats up
The training didn’t stay confined to legal basics. It came as Congress faces a high-stakes funding fight over DHS, with a partial shutdown increasingly plausible amid partisan clashes fueled by the Minneapolis shootings and broader disputes over immigration enforcement.
Organizers pointed participants toward political pressure campaigns targeting senators and cited polling from Data for Progress showing voters calling ICE funding a “bad use” of taxpayer money by a 55–43 margin.
Meanwhile, reports are that Gregory Bovino was removed from his role as Border Patrol “commander at large.”
Bovino, who has been heavily involved in crackdowns on immigration across the country, will return to El Centro and could even “retire soon,” a Homeland Security official and two other sources told The Atlantic.
However, in an online statement, DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin strongly denied the claims.
“Chief Gregory Bovino has NOT been relieved of his duties,” she stated in her X post adding that Bovino “is a key part of the President’s team and a great American.”
President Donald Trump said on Monday that he had asked border czar Tom Homan to go to Minneapolis and oversee the administration’s immigration enforcement campaign.
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Bottom line: “Eyes on ICE” is marketed as a rights training, but it’s also a tacit admission that the movement’s most aggressive street tactics can cross a line fast. The ACLU’s message to protesters is essentially this: film all you want, just don’t engage.
