“You’re essentially signing up to put yourself in a risky situation,” explained Skyla Tomine, a fourth-year UC Santa Cruz student.
The decision to put yourself in harm’s way is not an easy choice to make. In the homestretch of an undergraduate degree, Tomine could devote all her time to finishing her politics and feminist studies double major. But in addition to all her academic responsibilities, Tomine volunteers for Your Allied Rapid Response (YARR) in Santa Cruz as a legal observer.
Legal observers are trained, neutral volunteers who attend demonstrations as advocates for participants’ rights. They document law enforcement’s behavior, arrests and misconduct, which can be used in legal proceedings if police behavior is challenged. Legal observers have the ability to actively diffuse any confusion around violent confrontations during demonstrations. As the threat of ICE raids looms over the heads of communities across America, interest in becoming a legal observer has spiked — despite the danger involved.
“The risk to legal observers is still a lot lower than the risk is to the communities that are being targeted,” Tomine said.
Various organizations in the Bay Area offer training to become a legal observer. As one of these organizations, YARR offers training to those in Santa Cruz County.
“Our mission is to support our fellow community members, [making sure that] human and constitutional rights [are] being respected,” said Dave Wilson, one of the founders of YARR. “If you’re trained as a legal observer, you’re trained to [notice] places where oppression is happening, and to document that with your phone or a notebook.”
YARR for Santa Cruz County is a volunteer-led organization that trains community members in legal observation and de-escalation. To become a legal observer with YARR, individuals can visit YARR’s website and join their email list, where training dates and times are sent out. Typically, training takes around two and a half hours.
After President Trump’s second term began in January 2025, the debilitating effects of federal mass deportation initiatives appeared in cities all over the country. From the National Guard deployment in Los Angeles and Chicago, to ICE raids in Minneapolis, violence from law enforcement has rapidly increased.
Witnessing the unchecked power of ICE agents, many community members across the nation and in Santa Cruz want to protect their communities.
“Since last October, we have seen a real surge in interest here in Santa Cruz County,” said YARR volunteer Janet Byrd. “We’re working very hard to add new training dates to the calendar so that we can meet the demand that we’re experiencing from people.”
While local interest in becoming a legal observer has spiked over the past six months, YARR’s efforts to revitalize as an organization began long before Trump’s second inauguration.
“I was becoming very aware of the fact that, especially under the new Trump administration, things were really going to escalate,” Tomine said. “Even under Democratic presidents, there’s obviously been a lot of violence committed against immigrant communities, but I knew that it was going to really start escalating under Trump.”
Though Tomine has only recently become a legal observer, she is no stranger to political organizing. Since 2020, Tomine has been an organizer with Tsuru for Solidarity, an immigrant justice direct action project of Japanese Americans working to end detention sites and support immigrants in America. Tomine joined YARR because she wanted to pair broader activism with serving individuals in her direct community.
“The Asian American community, in general, has seen such a history of discrimination against them as immigrants.” Tomine said. “I think a lot of Asian Americans feel called to action at this moment, seeing the same violence that was committed against them, being committed against other communities.”
In December 2025, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) deployed ICE agents to Minnesota in a large-scale immigration raid, leading to the fatal shootings of Renee Nicole Good and Alex Pretti. In the immediate aftermath of both shootings, DHS Secretary at the time, Kristi Noem lied about the facts of the killing, blatantly contradicting multi-perspective videos taken by bystanders. While legal observers are neutral, the inherent exposure in their job puts their safety on the line.
“I think it’s something you have to think about if you are a legal observer,” Tomine said, “‘What am I going to do if I’m in that situation?’ ‘Am I willing to risk my safety or potentially [my] life?’”
As ICE raids become more common around the country, YARR has expanded their area of focus to not only train legal observers for demonstrations, but also to protect community members if an ICE raid happens in Santa Cruz. YARR has a 24/7 hotline that can be called during or after an ICE spotting or raid.
“If you see a rumor online, check our social media or call our hotline, to see if it’s real before you spread it on Instagram or whatever else,” Dave Wilson said. “If you see ICE in town, if you see DHS SUVs in town, call us and we’ll investigate. After [an ICE raid], if you know someone who’s been detained by ICE, call us and we will connect you with legal support and we can try and get other resources as well.”
While the threat of ICE raids continues to make people more fearful of the government and more reliant on their neighbors, Wilson emphasizes that a strong community remains a pillar of resistance.
“No matter what, in our lives we’re going to deal with things,” Wilson said. “Whether it’s a natural disaster, whether it’s authorities that are abusing their power, the stronger our ability to look after each other is, the stronger and healthier communities are going to be.”
YARR Hotline: 831-239-4289
