Blowing the Whistle on ICE

"Form a crowd and stay loud." Whistle blowers know short whistle bursts indicate ICE is nearby. Downtown Nasty Women and others are taking resistance up a notch in pitch and volume.

By Kim Beck

Even before Trump threatened to send ICE agents to New York City if Zohran Mamdani was elected mayor, pro-democracy coalitions were preparing. With a $75 billion influx from the Republican budget bill passed last March, a 200% increase in daily roundup quotas, and ICE already invading other blue cities, it would have been foolish to think NYC would not ICE’s the next target.

Similar to the aftermath of the 2016 presidential election, when grassroots activists organized across the country to stand up to authoritarianism, new groups and coalitions are forming. This time, they are responding to masked ICE thugs who are terrorizing communities and tearing families apart.

Downtown Nasty Women Mobilize

The Downtown Nasty Women activists love a good, pro-democracy fight, especially a local one. That’s why we began assembling “Resist ICE” kits. Modeled after a technique used in Chicago, these kits include a whistle, and two zines (mini, self-published literature), emphasizing a non-violent approach to alerting neighbors and protecting each other. One zine explains how to use the whistle to alert others if ICE agents enter the neighborhood: form a crowd and stay loud—use short bursts if ICE is nearby, blow continuously if ICE is in the process of detaining someone. The second zine explains how to report an ICE arrest taking place using the SALUTE method to call the ICE hotline. SALUTE is the acronym reminding callers to observe and report the following:

S: Size of group of officers
A: Actions & activity, what the agents are doing
L: Location
U: Uniforms or clothes that the officers are wearing
T: Time & date
E: Equipment & weapons

Downtown Nasty member, Sheryl, known for her beautiful Get Out the Vote postcards, introduced whistle kits to our community. We have been assembling these kits (in English and Spanish) during in-person gatherings for postcarding. We give every postcard writer two kits: one to keep and one to share with a friend or family member.

When Downtown activists Carin and Betsy started organizing “The Whistle Project,” their initial goal was 500 kits. But overwhelming support provided supplies to make 1,500 for their first kit-making party. All kits include a Know Your Rights card. They have also created a Signal chat to keep their volunteers informed of ICE related events.

Why whistles

These whistle/zine bundles ensure that people are alerting and protecting one another in a safe, structured, and non-violent way. The whistles are loud and effective, and we urge people to carry them at all times. This real time alert system is not reliant on volunteers and neighbors being in the right Signal chats or text chain.

ICE raids are not about crime. As even the conservative Cato Institute has noted, since the escalating raids have begun over 70% of the people detained by ICE have no criminal convictions. Only 5% had violent convictions. But it gets worse. Although ICE is not meeting its quota of 3,000 arrests per day, there is talk about increasing the daily quota to 7,000. The bottom line is that ICE is arresting people indiscriminately, including U.S. citizens.

Our movement has grown as organizers and volunteers are “catching some courage” and developing ways to protect our community:

• When collecting food for shelters during the government shutdown, we handed out whistle kits and warned neighbors about ICE coming to NYC.

• Downtown Nasty Women started a Google group to share information about protests, rallies, and press conferences, to quickly mobilize volunteers.

• Most recently we turned up to show support for a gay Latino man arrested by ICE days before Thanksgiving when he and his husband showed up for his green card interview.

• When our Signal chat alerted trained activists to a potential ICE raid on Canal Street, a critical mass gathered to prevent a raid.

• Hands Off NYC has organized 4-hour trainings throughout the city, trainings packed with concerned New Yorkers. Each training provides updates on ICE activity, and familiarizes volunteers with Know Your Rights, ICE watch, and organizing and mobilization strategies. Downtown Nasty Women is a proud member of the Hands Off coalition.

• Democratic club, Village Independent Democrats, organizes training and canvassing of neighborhood shops. Volunteers visit shops to educate store owners about their rights and the rights of their employees, and provide solidarity signs. This outreach has been welcomed with warm gratitude.

The coalition in NYC is not partisan politics. This is an organized civil resistance movement taking sustained collective action to protect democracy and individuals. Constituents include pro-democracy groups, faith based organizations, local elected officials, and city-wide, borough, and neighborhood teams. There is a way for everyone to get involved!

Every neighborhood needs to be ready. Concerned community members in Chicago, New York, and other cities are finding creative ways to protect their neighborhoods and share information. In the process, we are building power and strengthening community bonds. And these methods and templates can be used as a model everywhere.

For resources, templates, and more information, check out these websites

Hands Off NYC
How to Report ICE Zine
Signs of Solidarity toolkit
Library of Whistle zines PDFs (English and Spanish)"
Instructions on folding zines

and a video!

Statistics are reported based on reports from Immigration Resource Initiative, CATO Institute, American Immigration Council, and Immigrant Justice

Kim Beck is a grassroots leader and tireless advocate for democracy and equal rights. In November 2016, she co-founded Downtown Nasty Women.

Downtown Nasty Women Social Group’s mission is to spark civic engagement, increase voter participation, take on pro-democracy issues, elect Democrats up and down the ballot across the country, and shift the balance of power in order to improve people’s lives.