When Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) targeted Chicago in September, residents mobilised to defend immigrant neighbours, teaching one another how to recognise and document agents, holding know-your-rights sessions and distributing whistles so that sightings could be loudly signalled. In the months since, the whistle has become a common alert tool in cities from New York to New Orleans, a tactic that originated partly with community groups in Los Angeles.
Los Angeles activists began using whistles in June, when federal agents first raided the city. Rain Skau, co-coordinator of the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) Los Angeles branch, described one early raid at a Home Depot as mostly seizing women selling food in the car park, leaving grills unattended. In response, DSA and other grassroots groups set up patrols to maintain a visible presence at DIY stores, distributed know-your-rights material and ran a citywide hotline for reporting sightings.
When the crackdown spread to Chicago, Angelenos shared their experience informally with organisers there. “We had never operated ICE watch patrols, but we were able to do it,” Skau recalled telling their Chicago counterparts. “You don’t have to do it alone. You don’t have to figure out all of this from scratch, because we’re here to support you.”
The spirit of solidarity has since crossed state lines. Beth Davis of Indivisible NOLA received an unsolicited Instagram message from Indivisible Chicago in November, warning that ICE might soon arrive and offering support. The Chicago chapter mailed whistle kits and helped lead a remote know-your-rights training, which drew about 800 people to a New Orleans music venue. Sarah Whittington of the ACLU Louisiana described the collaboration as “a chain reaction”, with lessons passed from city to city.
