![\"Only](\"https:\/\/oaknorth.wpenginepowered.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Goose-wearing-an-observer-patch-Whistlemania-makes-1-1024x683.jpg\")
Goose Brigadier\u2019s patch reads, \u201cObserver for the U.S. Constitution.\u201d <\/p>\n
In November, he helped jump-start an East Bay section of Whistlemania, a nationwide movement that helps prepare residents for ICE raids. The Easy Bay section works closely with organizations and people such as faith leaders who have inroads to at-risk, local communities for distribution.<\/p>\n
Brigadier, who goes by a pseudonym due to safety concerns, said Whistlemania is helping the East Bay prepare for a surge, so residents can be ready if it comes to fruition rather than react to it<\/p>\n
\u201cWe had two choices,\u201d he said. \u201cWe could either say \u2018OK, we can relax,\u2019 or we can get to work. We saw Chicago, we saw Minneapolis and said, \u2018We have got to get to work.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
The SALT packets assembled at each event contain a red \u201cKnow Your Rights\u201d card outlining protections under the law, an orange \u201cdrop\u201d card with emergency contact names, a bright red or blue whistle, and a pink card with directions of how to use the whistle (three quick toots means ICE is near, and one long whistle means ICE is active). The cards come in Spanish or Vietnamese, because two of the largest Alameda County racial groups are Asian and Hispanic<\/a>, with 2.1% of the total population being Vietnamese.<\/p>\n The orange cards are meant to be dropped on the ground in case of an emergency encounter with federal agents. There are spaces on the front of the card to write down your name, and an emergency contact\u2019s name and phone number. The back of the card has directions for what the person finding it should do, as well as numbers for eight different Bay Area Rapid Response hotlines.<\/p>\n Brigadier said a scenario where the card might be used would be if a Department of Homeland Security officer came up to someone walking down the street and put them in an unmarked vehicle. Brigadier equated the card with a message in a bottle cast into the ocean, because a person would toss it onto the ground in hopes that somebody walking by would pick it up, read it and call the phone numbers to report their detention.<\/p>\n \u201cWe know that people are getting lost in the system, we know that people are getting shuffled across multiple states, multiple facilities, and so the drop card is a tool of last resort,\u201d Brigadier said.<\/p>\n Whistlemania assembly events have tripled in volunteers in recent months, Brigadier said. The Valentine\u2019s event drew 60 volunteers who made 3,200 packets. He said 20,000 whistles have been distributed across the Bay Area.<\/p>\n \u201cWe had whistles, they had guns,\u201d Brigadier said, quoting Good\u2019s partner. \u201cSo, I think the whistles are a key element in documenting and holding accountable a federal government that favors masked, armed men in the pursuit of its goals on U.S. cities, on U.S. streets.\u201d<\/p>\n One of Whistlemania\u2019s biggest distribution groups, specifically when it comes to whistles, are foot patrollers across the East Bay. Susan Bowyer participates in foot patrols at two different schools in East Oakland on Fridays, wearing a bright yellow vest and toting a whistle and an air horn to alert people of possible ICE presence.\u00a0<\/p>\n She said a recent notification for foot patrollers at a new school site prompted much interest from volunteers willing to sign up. However, Oakland foot patrols shifts are still small in comparison to Minneapolis patrols. <\/p>\n \u201cWhat I\u2019ve seen in Minneapolis is the school is surrounded by activists,\u201d she said. \u201cSo, hopefully, we\u2019re just right now keeping the ground warm, so that when we are able to shift into operations mode, we\u2019ll be able to.\u201d <\/p>\n ICE-free zones<\/p>\n![\"Hands](\"https:\/\/oaknorth.wpenginepowered.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Button-making-1-1024x683.jpg\")
At Whistlemania, making buttons that read, \u201cNo human is illegal\u201d and \u201cICE OUT.\u201d (All photos by Caly Plowman)<\/p>\n
![\"An](\"https:\/\/oaknorth.wpenginepowered.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Drop-Card-in-Spanish-English-1-scaled-e1773768534958-1024x501.jpg\")
An orange \u201cdrop\u201d card explains what to do if the card is found. <\/p>\n