Whistle Brigades Work!
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What We're Doing
It doesn’t take much to help keep your community safe -- a whistle, a few deep breaths, and the decision to care out loud.
- Know the codes: three short vs. one long. Learn it, carry it, use it.
- When you hear it, don’t freeze. Step outside if it’s safe, document, record, blow your whistle, and make sure no one is alone.
- In Oregon, call or text PIRC at 1-888-622-1510 to alert rapid response and immigrant rights teams.
- Post a "Taken Here" notice where someone is detained to remember and forewarn.
The whistles turn community fear into action, and isolation into connection.
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Why Whistles?
Across Chicago, communities have been using whistles to help keep each other safe. When ICE "agents" are spotted, the whistles ring out: three short chirps means ICE is nearby, or one long note if someone is being detained.
The sound brings neighbors out of their homes to witness and document. Allies gather. Reports are made to local immigrant rights groups. ICE kidnappings no longer happen quietly.
It’s working. Early warnings are creating time for at-risk neighbors to seek safety and for allies to come outside and document the scene and gather needed info to report to immigrant rights groups.
Chicago showed it works. We can too.
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Spread the Word
Not everyone can be in the streets blowing a whistle on ICE, but the network grows in other ways too. You can:
- Drop a handful of whistle kits in a community fridge or free library
- Share the whistle codes online
- Share our website or social media
- Explain whistle codes at local gatherings
- Talk to your neighbors and make a community safety plan together
- Tell a friend who tells a friend. Every echo helps. Every whistle makes the network stronger.
Keep the message alive—protect each other, stay loud, and stay connected!
