Whoopi Goldberg attends the Ad Council’s 71st Annual Public Service Award Dinner at The Glasshouse on Dec. 4, 2025, in New York City. (John Nacion / Getty Images)
By Nicole Silverio January 18, 2026 at 5:00am
“The View” co-host Whoopi Goldberg corrected fellow panelist Sunny Hostin on Tuesday as she claimed that Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents have no right to detain or stop a protester from filming.
Hostin referred to the killing of Renee Good, who was shot by an ICE agent on Jan. 7 when she accelerated her vehicle near where the officer stood, and suggested that Good simply exercised her First Amendment rights. While citing the Department of Homeland Security’s guidelines, Goldberg informed Hostin of the scenarios where ICE agents are legally permitted to arrest U.S. citizens.
“At a protest they can approach you. Yeah, if you’re obstructing space, they can ask you to move. They can ask you to get back if there is a crime scene. They can ask you to move back. They cannot ask you to stop filming. They cannot touch you. They cannot push you, and they cannot detain you for simply exercising your First Amendment rights,” Hostin said.
“Yes, they can,” Goldberg replied. “So the rights of ICE agents, according to the Constitutional Law Department of Homeland Security… agents can stop, detain, and arrest people they suspect of being in the U.S. illegally… This is what I’m told. Well, we know anybody if you walk up on somebody and they’re arresting your boyfriend. You cannot get in the middle of it, but you’re not talking about protesters. I’m talking about people agents can stop detain and arrest people they suspect of being in the U.S. illegally.”
ICE agents have a right to detain protesters, including U.S. citizens, who physically obstruct or interfere with an immigration enforcement operation, such as blocking the path of an officer’s vehicle, The San Francisco Chronicle reported.
Agents are permitted to detain citizens if they interfere with an arrest, assault an officer, or if ICE agents suspect the person of being in the U.S. illegally.
While legal precedent has allowed people to film ICE operations, DHS Secretary Kristi Noem said in September that videotaping agents is “doxxing” and that Americans can face prosecution.
Footage showed Good’s Honda SUV blocking a lane when ICE agents appeared. When one of the officers exited his vehicle to film her license plate, Good’s self-described wife, Rebecca, filmed and confronted him. When more agents appeared and ordered her to get out of the car, Good accelerated her vehicle, leading the officer to shoot.
In a video from the officer’s perspective, Rebecca appeared to shout “drive baby, drive” when the agents approached Good, according to the officer’s footage first released by Alpha News.
George Washington University law professor Jonathan Turley noted on Thursday that the shooting would likely be seen as justified if the vehicle is deemed a weapon.
All content created by the Daily Caller News Foundation, an independent and nonpartisan newswire service, is available without charge to any legitimate news publisher that can provide a large audience. All republished articles must include our logo, our reporter’s byline and their DCNF affiliation. For any questions about our guidelines or partnering with us, please contact licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org.
Founded by Tucker Carlson, a 25-year veteran of print and broadcast media, and Neil Patel, former chief policy adviser to Vice President Dick Cheney, The Daily Caller News Foundation is a 501(c)(3) non-profit providing original investigative reporting from a team of professional reporters that operates for the public benefit. Photo credit: @DailyCaller on Twitter
Advertise with The Western Journal and reach millions of highly engaged readers, while supporting our work. Advertise Today.
