Neighbors joined Whistlemania events in seven neighborhoods Tuesday to assemble whistle kits that alert when immigration agents are nearby.
We've become too fixated on tech solutions for our own good. As a result, we've permitted tech broligarchs to erode democracy for fun and (especially) profit.
People in Chicago have been using a decidedly low tech method to fight ICE – cheap whistles. Whistlemania is a thing.
Hundreds of people showed up Tuesday night at events across the Northwest and West sides to assemble whistle kits that Chicagoans can use to alert neighbors when immigration enforcement agents are nearby. Participants put together the kits that included a whistle, a Know Your Rights printout, a zine with instructions on how and when to use the whistle and rights cards that can be handed to an immigration officer if someone is detained. Ultimately, people helped pack more than 17,000 whistle kits that can help protect neighbors, said Alonso Zaragoza, one of the organizers and leader of Belmont Cragin United. [ ... ] Over the past month, federal agents have shot at least two people, killing one; repeatedly tear-gassed protesters and first responders; shot rubber bullets at protesters; detained U.S. citizens, including children; smoke bombed and tear-gassed more than one Chicago street; fired a chemical weapon at a TV reporter and detained a journalist, among other incidents.
Chicago Public Radio WBEZ adds...
The whistles have become a new tool in a growing effort to warn vulnerable neighbors when federal immigration agents are in their area. The whistling also serves as a call for people to converge around ICE activity and document it. For Chicagoans, it’s a way to fight back against what many see as overly aggressive immigration arrests, as people are picked up outside of schools, churches and courthouses. Organizers say the use of the whistles has led ICE agents to limit their time in a community or decrease their aggressiveness.
Somewhat related, an increasing number of municipalities in the Chicago area are restricting ICE activity on local government property. Carpentersville in the Fox River Valley became the latest.
