SOUDAN — What would you do if you saw ICE or border patrol agents in your neighborhood? A training recently held in Soudan — a similar one slated for Jan. 29 in Nett Lake — gave area residents the information and tools they need to help their neighbors.
About 75 people gathered on Jan. 21, for a session on “Constitutional Observer Training,” put on by the Twin Ports Response and Northern Civil Defense Network. The training was sponsored by Northern Progressives, and organizers were impressed with the turnout on a very cold, windy, and snowy evening.
Participants left the meeting with information cards, contact information, small notebooks, and whistles, which activists are using to alert neighbors to ICE and other enforcement agency presence in neighborhoods.
With the area starting to see some ICE activity and operations already underway in Duluth, participants, who ranged from young adults to retirees, came from across northern St. Louis County to learn what they could do to help in their communities.
Jesse Bearheart, of Cook, opened the training by asking everyone to take some deep breaths, stressing the importance of taking care of your own basic needs first.
“First, do no harm,” she said. “We are not out there to save the world. You are there to be a helper.”
Bearheart stressed that there were many ways to help besides being an active observer.
“You need to know yourself and what you are capable of doing,” she said. “You can be on the front lines with a whistle, or someone putting informational packets together or fielding phone calls.”
Kathy McTavish, from Twin Ports Rapid Response, led the rest of the training. She said she became active last year after seeing the unprecedented amount of funding given to ICE.
“How could we be there for our neighbors and co-workers?” she asked.
She said there were a lot of groups in the Twin Cities working on immigrant rights issues, and they worked with them to gain training and knowledge to set up their own response strategies.
She detailed the strategy of constitutional observation.
“The goal is to show up,” she said, “not to intervene or obstruct, but to gather legal evidence and to educate our neighbors and workplaces.”
The goal is to get that evidence of ICE’s unconstitutional actions to the attorneys working to secure rights for immigrants.
“Either now or in the future, we will hold them accountable,” she said.

Constitutional rights
“Everyone has constitutional rights,” McTavish said, “no matter what their immigration status. These rights include the right to remain silent. You can lawfully refuse to speak with an ICE agent, especially about your birthplace, immigration status, or how you entered this county. And everyone has the right to speak to an attorney and to not sign anything before doing so.
“People are being tricked into signing papers which cause them to be immediately deported,” she continued.
Everyone also has the right to refuse a search of their person or belongings without a judicial warrant. Administrative warrants, which are not signed by a judge, are not a valid tool to search a residence, she said. Everyone has the right to record ICE and police activity in public, as long as they are not interfering with an arrest. She said observers of ICE activity should write down badge numbers and other identifying information.
Twin Ports Rapid Response takes tips at 218-213-5009 or hello@twinportsrapidresponse.org. They will then send volunteers to document the event and follow up as needed.
McTavish said they are seeing some “bounty hunter” types, dressed up like ICE or Homeland Security, harassing people in neighborhoods. These should also be reported.
“For your own safety,” she emphasized, “do not obstruct an arrest. Do not physically block or touch an officer.”
They are also seeing some ICE agents not dressing in military gear, but instead dressing like the locals and driving cars with left-leaning bumper stickers.
Whether or not to ask for a name from someone you see being detained can be tricky. On one hand, this can make it easier for the agents to identify the individual. Another tactic is to ask the person if there is someone you can contact to let them know what happened.
Also, it is important not to post names, photos, or videos on social media before consulting with an immigrant rights group.
“This can put their families at risk,” she said.
McTavish also urged people to not post unverified rumors on social media, because that makes it harder for immigrant rights groups to focus on actual issues.
“Spreading fear can be worse.”

Whistles
Whistles have become an important tool for observers.
“There is a code,” she said. “If ICE is nearby, blow short blasts. If ICE is detaining someone, blow long blasts.”
If ICE is detaining someone, she said, the best strategy is to form a crowd and stay loud and nonviolent.
“Noise equals visibility,” she said.
Whistles have also become a signal of supporting immigrant rights.
“Young people are wearing them around their necks as signals of solidarity,” she said.
Volunteers have been producing simple whistles using 3D printers, which only cost pennies a piece, and then distributing them in kits that also have information on immigrant rights and immigrant support organizations.

Documentation
Accurate video information has become a vital tool for observers. Observers should film horizontally and continuously, and also pan the view to establish the location. They should stay at least eight feet back and step back if told to by an agent while narrating that you are stepping back. The video should focus on the agents, badge numbers, identifying markings, and visible facial features. Observers are asked not to livestream and not to focus on the people being targeted, other than their direct interaction with ICE, because this can make their families a target. Videos should not be edited in any way to preserve their legitimacy. Videos can then be uploaded to the Immigration Defense Network and to the cloud for backup.
Observers are taught the S.A.L.U.T.E. technique, taking note of the size of the incident (how many agents involved), the actual activity of the enforcement agents, the location, the uniforms being worn, time and date, and equipment and weapons carried by the agents. If someone is taking video of the event, they can narrate this information.
Observers are taught not to follow or tail ICE vehicles.
“ICE is trying to trick people into breaking traffic laws,” McTavish said. “Even if ICE is driving recklessly, do not follow them. They will arrest you for driving recklessly.”

Notifications
Groups are setting up small networks, often using encrypted messaging apps, to help notify interested people of possible ICE action in their neighborhoods. These groups are intentionally kept small and private to “keep the networks safe,” McTavish said. “It better to start small and be decentralized, and to vet people before you let them into your network.”
And a good old-fashioned phone tree is still a terrific tool, she said.

ICE at the workplace and private homes
McTavish said businesses should have a plan in place in case ICE asks to enter. While certain parts of a business are considered public, not everything is.
Businesses can put up signs stating parts of a business area that are private.
“They are required to produce a judicial warrant for private places in a business,” she said.
“Do not assist with identifying workers. Stay calm and professional and document what is happening.”
In the case of a private home, if ICE does not have a judicial warrant, do not open the door, she said.
While ICE officials have said they just need an administrative warrant (not signed by a judge), under the Constitution, the warrant does need to be signed by a U.S. district court.
“It may not help every time,” she said, to refuse entry, but it will help to hold these people responsible.
The Immigrant Defense Network has posters and informational cards that can be downloaded and printed.
“It is often helpful to hand these out at businesses,” she said.
Members of the Ely Indivisible group have already started handing out information to businesses in Ely.
“Every single person we talked to said thank you,” said Val Myntti, who helped hand out flyers in Ely.
One attendee said they work at a visitor attraction business, and they already had an ICE protocol in place.
“Areas which require admission are a stopping point, according to our attorney,” she said.

What you can do
 Northern Progressives (can follow on Facebook) and Ely Indivisible (watch for event notices in the Timberjay) are two area groups working on these issues.
 Twin Port Rapid Response, call to report a sighting at 218-213-5009. For non-urgent requests or questions please email hello@twinportsrapidresponse.org. More information is online at https://twinportsrapidresponse.org/. Twin Ports Rapid Response is an all-volunteer group standing in support of our immigrant family, friends, neighbors, coworkers — community members who are under attack. We show up to witness, document, nonviolently protest, and defend our community’s right to live without fear and ensure no one faces intimidation, detention, or deportation alone.
 Immigrant Defense Network (IDF). Established in 2025, the Immigrant Defense Network (IDN) is a network of over 90 immigrant, labor, legal, faith, and community organizations dedicated to protecting and advancing the constitutional rights of immigrant communities across Minnesota. In the face of ongoing and escalating threats to immigrant rights, IDN delivers trusted information, referrals to legal support, and coordinated educational activities. Immigrants are the backbone of Minnesota’s economy, cultural richness, and civic life. We all deserve to live with dignity and without fear. More information at https://immigrantdefensenetwork.org/ , including documents/flyers/informational cards to download and hand out. If you see any federal activity or have been directly impacted and need support, please call the IDF COPAL helpline at 612-255-3112.
 Donate to any of the above groups, links on their website.