Here’s the latest on how New Yorkers can fight ICE
Organizers are taking a page from Chicago's playbook to keep our neighbors safe from these goons
New York City may be a newly minted socialist utopia — so much so that we’ve seemingly driven Eric Adams out of the country for good! — but our city is also still facing the reality of ICE raids terrorizing and disappearing New Yorkers on a daily basis.
And it may still get worse: Activists are bracing themselves for the situation to escalate come January, if the Trump administration follows through on threats to ramp up “enforcement” once Mayor-elect Mamdani takes office.
It’s undeniably grim, but as usual, the bright spot in a bad situation is New Yorkers themselves, who keep finding new and creative ways to mobilize against this fresh hell.
More recently, New Yorkers have been taking a page out of Chicago’s playbook, and becoming literal whistleblowers. As The City reported earlier this week, organizers have been encouraging people to make the most of whistles (or any other basic noisemaker) as a means of alerting anyone nearby to the presence of ICE agents.
The code for whistles is straightforward: short repeated bursts mean that ICE agents are nearby, and long whistles mean they’ve been seen making arrests:
One added upside to the whistle approach: it seems to really, really upset DHS Secretary Kristi Noem. Below, a few other updates for your anti-ICE playbook:
Call it in
Another slightly less literal way of acting as a whistleblower: if you spot ICE officers out in the city, the DSA has launched a volunteer-run hotline — at 229-304-8720 — you can call to have the sighting verified and have rapid responders deployed to the scene. (This system is also modeled off a similar one that’s been used in Chicago.) If you save this number in your phone, DSA recommends not using the word “ICE” anywhere in the contact name. It’s also helpful to submit information in the SALUTE format noting Size (the number of officers), Activity (what they’re doing), Location details, Uniform descriptions, Time witnessed, and Equipment (i.e. do they have weapons visible).
Get to a training
Organizers handed out 10,000 whistles this past weekend at a day of action organized by Hands Off NYC, a recently-launched coalition of “unions, faith leaders and community groups” organizing around non-violent resistance to ICE and federal military occupation.
The group is holding training sessions in each borough covering know-your-rights tactics, organizing and mobilizing strategies, and connecting attendees with other allies in their neighborhoods. The first two — for Staten Island and Manhattan — are happening this weekend, and you can sign up and get the full info here.
Brush up on the basics
In case you missed our guide back in February, you can check it out here to brush up on some of the key know-your-rights basics including:
- You do not under any circumstances have to let ICE into your apartment or building without a warrant — and they almost never have a warrant. A landlord also can’t evict or call ICE on you based on immigration status.
- Similarly, ICE cannot enter schools without a warrant, and if it comes up, you don’t have to let them in.
- If you’re witnessing an ICE raid in real time, one of the most useful things you can do is to document it. You very much legally have the right to record, and should exercise it, following the best practices above (Make the Road NY also has a full guide here).
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