A six-foot wooden whistle sculpture is not the kind of artwork photographer Wilson Webb usually creates.

But when federal immigration enforcement raids ramped up earlier this year in West St. Paul, where Webb lives, he knew he wanted to show his support for the thriving Latino population in the city and other immigrant groups in the Twin Cities, he said. And the whistle, which activists blow to warn of Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents’ presence, was emerging as a powerful symbol of community solidarity against ICE.

“I wanted to make something that made a larger statement physically and showed my support, and maybe in turn would give others some small glimmer of hope in these horrible times,” Webb said. “It’s out of frustration for what’s going on and the injustices that have been happening here in the community.”

A large whistle sculpture sits in photographer Wilson Webb’s front yard in West St. Paul on Feb. 9, 2026. Webb, who built the sculpture, also offered free whistles, which have become a way for activists to alert one another of the presence of federal immigration agents. (Courtesy of Wilson Webb)

The completed work, a large white coach’s whistle with the words “ICE OUT” painted on the side, went on display in the front yard of Webb’s West St. Paul home earlier in February.

And it immediately caught the attention of neighbors and local media like the West St. Paul Reader, which first posted a video of the sculpture on Facebook that has since been viewed more than 300,000 times.

Webb began drawing out plans for the whistle in late January, and construction took about two weeks, he said.

Professionally, Webb is an on-set photographer, documenting behind the scenes of movies like the Coen Brothers’ “A Serious Man” and capturing theater poster images for Greta Gerwig’s “Little Women” and Noah Baumbach’s “Marriage Story,” among others.

He has some woodworking experience from previous jobs as a handyman and painter, he said, but some of the more complex fabrication elements like the curved body of the whistle were figured out on the fly.

“I’m always making things,” he said. “Sometimes those things are photos, sometimes sculptures, sometimes fixes around the house. Figuring out how to materialize something with your own hands is just a challenge that I enjoy.”

When the sculpture was installed in early February, Webb also set out free whistles for passersby to take. The overarching goal, he said, is to show like-minded neighbors that they are not alone in their opposition to ICE activity in Minnesota.

“It’s a sculpture in a yard; it’s not changing the way things are done — but, as a small symbol, it might add up to more positivity,” he said.

Related Articles

MN Legislature: Bonding requests from east metro counties, cities

St. Paul, Roseville, West St. Paul among clean-up grant recipients

West St. Paul man arrested, accused of following ICE agents and pointing gun

Red Lake Nation to open cannabis dispensary in West St. Paul

Letters: Rage rear-ended by hope in the middle of a St. Paul intersection