In North Carolina, hundreds of people — most of them U.S. citizens — have for years participated in community observation networks that observe and document immigration operations. They are trained volunteers whose role is to confirm the presence of federal agents, record what happens and share that information, without intervening or confronting officers.
The work takes place in a wide range of settings: urban neighborhoods, small towns and rural areas. It has relied on clear protocols and on the idea that observation itself offers a degree of protection against potential misconduct by immigration agents.
The killing of Renee Good, a community observer who was documenting an immigration operation in Minneapolis, disrupted that framework.
Not because the risk was unknown, but because it crossed a boundary that until now had been seen as unlikely: being fatally attacked by ICE agents while documenting an operation. It also raised new questions among those who do this work and the organizations that support them — including the emotional toll on observers.
Questions are also emerging about how this work might change, and how organizations are addressing the safety of community observers amid an escalation of violence in immigration enforcement.
The impact on community observers
The day after Renee Good was killed in Minneapolis, Martha Hernández, coordinator of the Radar Safe community observation network, received several messages from people who participate in the program in North Carolina. Hernández shared those messages with Enlace Latino NC.
“I think they are the ones who should express how they feel, because they are the ones who go out and put themselves at risk to do this work for the community,” Hernández said. For safety reasons, the names of the observers are not being published.
“I feel deeply disturbed and saddened by what happened to Renee Good in Minnesota. But as an observer, my commitment to serve my community remains the same,” one message read.
“It’s clear that ICE is willing to go to the very end, so we will always have to remain vigilant,” it added.
Another participant said that “the violence ICE uses against our communities is terrifying,” but that despite the fear, they remain committed as an observer “because now more than ever, people are needed who are willing to do what it takes to keep our communities informed.”
Legal training
The Radar Safe Community Alert Network operates in Wake and Durham counties and has 50 volunteer observers, who receive legal training and accompaniment during operations to document the actions of federal agents.
Hernández said the impact of Renee Good’s killing highlighted risks that were already present.
“Under this administration, there is nothing that guarantees safety. We are seeing citizens — white people — being attacked, harassed and assaulted. So we believe there is nothing that guarantees that the community or citizens can be safe,” she said.
The importance of continuing the work
“What just happened in Minneapolis is an example of why these community observation programs exist,” Kelly Morales, co-director of Siembra NC, told Enlace Latino NC. Siembra NC is the organization with the largest number of observers in the state.
In 2025 alone, the organization trained 5,000 community observers through its “Cuidando el Camino” program, a statewide network that observers the presence of immigration agents across North Carolina.
For Morales, being there is essential. “If that’s what they do when we are there, imagine what they would do when no one is watching,” she said, referring to videos of the immigration operation that ended in the observers’s death.
“It’s very important to understand that all of this confirms what we already knew: that this agency believes it does not have to be accountable to anyone,” Morales said.
For her, Renee Good’s killing is not an isolated incident, but confirmation of a pattern of impunity.
An impunity that Siembra NC says “has not only manifested itself in the way we saw in Minneapolis, but we have also seen it in at least 32 people who have died while in immigration custody” in 2025.
Morales said the presence of community observers serves a concrete purpose in that context. “The fact that there are witnesses allows us to now demand accountability,” she explained. “That’s what we do when we are there.”
How to move forward after Renee Good
Henderson Fuerza Activa has the smallest group of observers contacted for this article. It is made up of 14 young community observers, most of them U.S. citizens — children, nieces, nephews or relatives of undocumented people who want to protect their families and their community.
Since 2017, the group has responded to immigration raids and federal agency actions in the city of Henderson, in Vance County, in the northern part of the state.
“Of course this affects the young people (the community observers),” group coordinator Antelmo Salazar told Enlace Latino NC.
“They say, ‘My passion is to defend my community, but what’s going to happen if they cross those lines and beat us, insult us or even kill us?’” he said.
“Because even though their work and their passion is to help — for their parents, for their neighbors — when things like this happen, they ask themselves how far this is going to go. If we don’t have support, what’s going to happen? Are they going to kill us?” Salazar said.
“They keep asking and asking. They say, ‘Do I throw in the towel?’” he said, adding that they are in a complex position because they also feel they must continue the work because “their parents are at stake.”
In that context, Salazar said, the young people began asking themselves: “What should we do more strategically, and who should we rely on to move forward in a case like Minneapolis?”
“It could have happened in Charlotte”
“What happened in Minneapolis could have happened here in Charlotte. We saw on several occasions observers who worked with us being cornered by CBP agents, threatened with weapons and verbally attacked. That same activity happened here, locally.”
That is according to Stefania Arteaga, co-executive director of Carolina Migrant Network. The organization coordinates the Amigos en Resistencia campaign, which trains U.S. citizens to document and observe ICE and Border Patrol actions.
In Charlotte, the program has trained more than 700 people.
“Like many parents, teachers and community members, she took action for justice and to support others in the community — and she was killed,” Arteaga said in an interview with Enlace Latino NC about Renee Good’s case.
For Arteaga, her death confirms that “Border Patrol activity is strategic in causing fear and destroying our communities, but also in limiting this type of work.”
Regarding Carolina Migrant Network volunteers, Arteaga said there is fear among observers, but above all, “many people are seeing what happened and feel compelled to take action.”
“This is also raising awareness among the U.S. public that may not have been directly impacted by the immigration system, but is now seeing the injustices that are being committed,” she said.
“We never imagined something like this”
“What happened has impacted us in a way that I had never seen before,” said one of the people who coordinates an immigrant support organization in western North Carolina, who asked not to be identified for security reasons.
About 170 community observers are part of that organization’s network, which primarily covers Buncombe and Henderson counties.
“We have felt overwhelmed. The impact has been strong here — not just for the observers, but also for Latino families, because that is not how a human being should die.”
The source told Enlace Latino NC that observer trainings include complex interaction scenarios with agents. However, what happened in Minneapolis exceeded any expectations.
“This is something we never thought could reach this extreme. We never imagined something like this.”
Going forward, the organization said, care will be an even higher priority. “We say they are the eyes and ears of the community, but we also have to protect them,” the source said. “We have to take care of the people who do this work.”
Next steps for community Observation in North Carolina
After Renee Good’s killing, the organizations consulted described different processes, but they all agreed on one central idea: pause, reassess and care for those who do community observation.
At Siembra NC, the response involves sustaining and strengthening observation programs. Kelly Morales said the work continues through trainings and community brigades, with an emphasis on nonviolent observation and collective accompaniment. The organization is maintaining its training programs and its spaces to process the emotional impact on volunteers.
At Carolina Migrant Network, the focus is on assessing the context and protecting volunteers. “Our team is evaluating every situation,” Stefania Arteaga said. The organization is reviewing protocols, strengthening trainings with attorneys on constitutional rights, and maintaining the recommendation that observers not go out alone and always have backup.
Wake, Durham and Henderson
At Radar Safe, which operates in Wake and Durham counties, observer safety remains the top priority. Martha Hernández said the program continues with mandatory legal trainings and with the message that no one should document operations without prior training. The organization insists that volunteer safety comes before any recording.
At Henderson Fuerza Activa, the next step will be collective. “We’re going to meet,” Antelmo Salazar said. The group plans to sit down again to discuss how to move forward and who to rely on before making decisions about future observations.
In western North Carolina, the community organization that asked not to be identified said the case forces a reconsideration of protocols. That includes reiterating the recommendation to withdraw in the face of provocation and reviewing internal rules. They also emphasized: “This is work that requires courage and love. And it also requires understanding that if someone decides to step back, that decision is respected.”
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