Hundreds around the country look for training in how to respond to immigration enforcement

The shriek of whistles and a cacophony of cars honking have taken on new meaning on the streets of major U.S. cities in recent months — a warning to all those in earshot that immigration enforcement is nearby.

The warning tactics from activists have become popular in cities recently targeted by Border Patrol immigration operations. In Los Angeles, Chicago and Charlotte, North Carolina, residents protested immigration enforcement actions and began coordinating street patrols, organizing neighborhood watch groups and recording videos of both immigration officers apprehending people and agents carrying out operations largely while masked and in unmarked vehicles.

Community activists have denounced what they say are increasingly aggressive tactics by immigration agents as residents patrol and document immigration enforcement activity. Meanwhile, federal authorities have said community members’ actions have gotten in the way of immigration agents doing their job. Officers “will take legal and necessary steps to ensure their own safety and that of bystanders,” Department of Homeland Security spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin said.

Heather Morrow, a protester in Charlotte, North Carolina, faces misdemeanor charges after prosecutors allege she blocked the entrance to a Department of Homeland Security facility’s parking lot; she was initially charged with felony assault of a federal officer, but it was dropped a week later at the request of the federal government.

https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/hundreds-around-country-look-training-100000714.html