{"id":458406,"date":"2026-02-09T15:59:09","date_gmt":"2026-02-09T15:59:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/458406\/"},"modified":"2026-02-09T15:59:09","modified_gmt":"2026-02-09T15:59:09","slug":"whistle-becomes-key-tool-in-protests-against-trumps-ice-crackdown-ice-us-immigration-and-customs-enforcement","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/458406\/","title":{"rendered":"Whistle becomes key tool in protests against Trump\u2019s ICE crackdown | ICE (US Immigration and Customs Enforcement)"},"content":{"rendered":"

When Justin Vernon of Bon Iver appeared on the red carpet at the Grammy awards he was wearing an accessory that has become a must-carry for activists in neighborhoods targeted by ICE: a whistle<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The whistle has become a key part in the defense against Donald Trump\u2019s aggressive immigration crackdown, used to alert people to the presence of agents. But it has also become a target for the right, who have branded whistles \u201chearing-loss-causing machines\u201d and said the act of blowing a whistle may constitute \u201cassault\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cThose women absolutely went out of their way to cross the street and arguably commit assault against the officers with whistles in the ears,\u201d the rightwing streamer Steven Crowder weighed in last week<\/a>, referring to women at the scene of Alex Pretti\u2019s killing in Minneapolis.<\/p>\n

Crowder wasn\u2019t alone. Mike Cernovich, who like Crowder is part of a conservative movement that has branded liberals \u201csnowflakes\u201d, claimed last week that whistles \u201cshould be considered a violent weapon\u201d, as the right coalesced in opposition to the device.<\/p>\n

The whistle has gained such attacked status due to people using it to support undocumented immigrants across the country. Protesters have developed a straight-forward code for when they encounter immigration agents. \u201cIf you see ICE<\/a> in the neighborhood, blow your whistle in short bursts. If you witness ICE detaining someone, blow the whistle in a long, repeated pattern,\u201d is how Hands Off NYC<\/a>, an advocacy group active in New York, characterizes it.<\/p>\n

Its use has spread across the country. In Chicago people have held \u201cwhistle parties\u201d where they hand out the devices, and one group has distributed more than 150,000 whistles across the country, the Chicago Sun-Times reported<\/a>. Activists in cities ranging from Milwaukee<\/a> to New York<\/a>, Portland<\/a> and Los Angeles<\/a> have done the same.<\/p>\n

The ubiquity of whistles in immigration standoffs has led them to be castigated, however.<\/p>\n

Megyn Kelly, a rightwing podcaster, suggested<\/a> last week that whistleblowing contributed to Pretti being shot dead by immigration agents and said the use of whistles \u201cneeds to stop\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cNow, some are saying that\u2019s fine. That actually is interference. You \u2013 if you came out on your front lawn and just blew a coach\u2019s whistle at the top of your lungs all day, you would be cited by the police under the local noise ordinances. It would be a disturbance of the peace. That\u2019s what these people are doing. And no doubt they contributed to the chaotic atmosphere that ultimately led Alex Pretti to die,\u201d Media Matters recorded Kelly as saying. Kelly was also upset<\/a> by Vernon wearing his whistle to the Grammys.<\/p>\n

Cernovich, meanwhile, wrote<\/a> on social media: \u201cHigh IQ people don\u2019t respond well to shrill noises. From smoke alarms to those hearing loss causing machines that terrorists use against ICE. Tbh those things should be considered a violent weapon. They damage hearing for life.\u201d<\/p>\n

It hasn\u2019t just been activists using whistles. City and state lawmakers wore whistles at a press conference<\/a> at Minneapolis city hall last week, while the Michigan congresswoman Rashida Tlaib used a whistle<\/a> in the House of Representatives on Thursday to illustrate her opposition to Trump\u2019s immigration crackdown.<\/p>\n

\u201cSpeaker Johnson says: \u2018ICE is doing what ICE is designed to do,\u2019\u201d Tlaib said.<\/p>\n

\u201cICE was built on violence and racism. It cannot be reformed. ICE must be abolished. And Kristi Noem [the secretary of homeland security] must be impeached.\u201d<\/p>\n

Interviewed at the Grammys, Vernon said<\/a>: \u201cThe whistle is there to represent all the observers in Minneapolis. They are out there on the street corner, 30 below, and they are warning their neighbors of danger. And I think music is a beautiful thing. We make it with soft hands, though. I think the real work of humanity and empathy are those people that see that and they don\u2019t stay at home. They get out on the street and they are taking care of each other and nothing could inspire me more.\u201d<\/p>\n