SANTA CRUZ -- Among the thousands of local residents who demonstrated on public streets in early January after Renee Good was shot to death by a federal immigration agent in Minneapolis was Rusten Hogness, a volunteer with a local immigration enforcement watchdog group called Your Allied Rapid Response for Santa Cruz County, or YARR.
Hogness meandered through the crowd gathered on the corner of Ocean and Water streets carrying a small light-purple sign encouraging rallygoers to ask him about the grassroots organization's work and how they could get involved.
"Folks in the community -- they're vulnerable," Hogness told the Sentinel at the time. "And not to do anything just feels like we're letting them down."
As it turns out, many community members were interested in having that conversation with Hogness and his colleagues, and have been for many months.
Organizers with the rapid response group told the Sentinel this week that they experienced a noticeable rise in training registrations since October or November of last year. Janet, an organizer with the group who declined to share her last name due to fear of federal retaliation, said "hundreds" of people have expressed interest in getting involved within this past month alone.
"Our training team is having a challenging time keeping up with the demand for trainings," said Janet. "We have one coming up (next week) that filled in less than 48 hours I think."
Your Allied Rapid Response for Santa Cruz County, which has been active since 2016, is run entirely by volunteers and is funded by donations only. Much of its function, Janet explained, revolves around a hotline established for reporting suspected U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement activity that is monitored by English and Spanish speakers 24/7. The number is 831-239-4289 and the group's website is at santacruzrapidresponse.org.
Once reported, trained volunteers travel to the location in question to confirm if ICE activity is occurring and they post a verification update on social media as quickly as possible.
"We value the work we do to reduce the spread of rumors that might panic people in the community and limit their willingness to go about their daily life," said Janet. "Rumor control is something we feel really strongly about."
The organization's other primary function is to train interested community members about how they can lawfully and safely observe ICE operations in public spaces and document any potential civil rights violations. But to perform these verification and legal observation functions, Janet said participants must complete the group's training program, which is based on criteria from other legal service groups and is vetted by local experts.
"We have an incredible range of volunteers within (Your Allied Rapid Response), both in terms of age and racial and ethnic backgrounds, as well as professional experience, or training, or life experience," said Janet."We don't have specific requirements (to register for a training).We do utilize the special skills that people show up and bring to us and share with us and we encourage people to let us know what those skills are and how they think they might deploy them."
According to the American Civil Liberties Union, the First Amendment generally protects an individual's right to photograph or film anything in plain view in a public space, including federal buildings and law enforcement. But, according to the nonprofit's website, you should not interfere with the actions of the government officials you are recording. Law enforcement may order you to move a reasonable distance away from them to avoid obstructing their work. If you think a command is unlawful, it is safest to follow the order, document the interaction and challenge it later.
Good, a 37-year-old mother of three who was also reportedly a trained legal observer, was killed Jan. 7 by federal immigration agents patrolling the streets of a Minneapolis neighborhood. Less than three weeks later, intensive care unit nurse Alex Pretti was also shot and killed during a confrontation with federal agents as he appeared to be recording their activity with his phone.
The incidents sparked several local anti-ICE protests that attracted huge crowds, including a youth walkout where more than 1,000 middle and high school students left their classrooms and marched through downtown Santa Cruz.
Elected leaders have also joined the growing chorus of community members condemning recent immigration enforcement tactics. The county Board of Supervisors unanimously passed a resolution at its meeting Tuesday that denounced escalating violence and harmful community impacts associated with recent ICE and U.S. Customs and Border Protection operations.
"Santa Cruz County is home to a diverse community in which immigrant families play an essential role in our economy, schools and civic life," said 3rd District Supervisor Justin Cummings, who drafted the item."This resolution affirms our shared values of safety,dignity and respect for constitutional rights for everyone who lives here."
Included within the resolution was a request for California Attorney General Rob Bonta to hold all individuals -- including federal agents -- accountable for violations of the law. That commitment was publicly made by county District Attorney Jeffrey Rosell at a press conference hosted last month by U.S. Rep. Jimmy Panetta. At the same event, county Sheriff Chris Clark also said that local law enforcement has a "duty to intercede" should they witness excessive force and other unlawful actions from federal agents.
The board preceded its resolution this week by creating a subcommittee two weeks ago that is tasked with working alongside community partners and administrative staff to safeguard the rights and services of the local immigrant community in the event of a large-scale federal operation.
Meanwhile, Janet said members of the rapid response group remain deeply saddened by what has unfolded in Minneapolis in recent months, but it has not had a chilling effect.
"What I have heard from folks is more of a resolve," said Janet."That it's important to show up;that it's important for more of us to show up.Because the more of us that show up,the safer we all are."