Know Your Rights: What To Do If You Encounter ICE
Since President Donald Trump took office, his administration been hell-bent on striking fear into the heart of America’s immigrant communities. In a series of executive orders filed in his first 10 days, Trump attempted to end birthright citizenship for children born to parents without at least one permanent-resident status; authorized all Department of Justice law enforcement officers to act as immigration officers; and has already begun ICE raids across the country, many of which have not only targeted immigrants without criminal records but also involved the detainment of U.S. citizens.
Many of Trump’s actions, like his attempt to end birthright citizenship, have been challenged through legal avenues. But Heidi Altman, Vice President of Policy at the National Immigration Law Center, tells Rolling Stone that many Trump administration policies are also about stoking emotions. “The executive orders he took on his first day in office lay the groundwork for Trump to separate countless loved ones from their families, deprive essential industries of needed workers, shut the United States’ doors to refugees and people seeking asylum, and create an immigration police state rife with racial profiling and cruelty,” Altman says. “Fear is the centerpiece of all of Trump’s actions targeting immigrants and the catalyst for his mass deportation agenda.”
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Katarina Ramos, a managing attorney for the National Immigrant Justice Center, tells Rolling Stone that emotions surrounding Trump’s immigration blitz are understandable — which is why she encourages people to not only know their rights but feel empowered to use them in encounters with immigration officers. “We’re seeing a lot of fear, we’re hearing it from our clients, from community partners, from community members, from friends and family, too,” she says. “We’re trying to focus as much as possible on making sure that people know that they have rights, but also feel empowered to exercise those rights.” Know Your Rights pamphlets — also known as KYRs — are compiled by various organizations and contain helpful and digestible information for people who might have encounters with immigration officers. Here’s what you should know.
Be aware of where you are
What immigration officers are legally required to present to you differs depending on where you are. If you’re at your home, ICE needs a judicial warrant — a warrant signed by a judge — in order for them to enter your home. If someone knocks at your door who you think might be an immigration officer, you don’t have to open the door. You also should not step outside or follow an officer anywhere to see a warrant. “We all have this instinct if someone knocks on the door, you open the door,” Ramos says. “So [make] sure, if you’re comfortable, you’re asking whoever is at the door to identify themselves. It’s a cliche, but your home is your castle.”
All warrants aren’t created equal. Ramos adds that many ICE officers tend to present administrative warrants that are issued by another ICE officer or the Department of Homeland Security, but these still don’t grant entry into a private citizen’s home. If an immigration officer presents you a warrant, you should check that it is signed by a judge, has the specific name of the person they’re looking for, their exact address, and a validity period that it’s good for. You can ask officers to pass the warrant underneath the door. Alway check that the warrant in correct before you open the door.
This isn’t the same at workplaces, as ICE officers can enter and detain people if they have direct permission from a businesses’ owner. If you are detained, do not try to run. Instead, exercise the rest of your rights, as explained below.
Exercise your rights
The Fifth Amendment grants people the right to remain silent. Anything you say to officers, even while you are being detained, could be used against you in your case later. Ramos adds that the best way to exercise your right is by saying the words out loud. “You need to say, ‘I wish to remain silent.’ And once you say that, you don’t have to answer any questions,” she says. You can say it at any point, even if you’ve already answered some.
Immigration experts say those with valid immigration documents should show them when asked, but if you’re undocumented, you should remain silent when asked for documents. You do not have to answer any questions about your immigration status, where you were born, your address, or any personal information. “We advise all of our clients not to carry any false documents. It’s just not a good idea,” Ramos says. “The other thing we would advise is if someone is being asked for an identity document by ICE, don’t present an identity document that’s going to tell ICE you might not be from the United States originally. So a lot of people use consular ID cards as their form of identification, but that’s automatically telling ICE I might be a Mexican citizen, or I might be a citizen of whatever country issued that ID card.”
Get a lawyer
Once you are detained, you should immediately seek legal help, either by contacting an attorney you already know or having a family member reach out to a local immigration lawyer. While you wait for the attorney, make sure not to sign anything and continue to remain silent. Conversations between an attorney and their client are confidential, but phone lines in ICE facilities are not. So if you are given a phone call, do not discuss anything about your immigration status with any family or friends. It’s also important to refuse to sign any paperwork you don’t understand. “We’re seeing documents that may be in very complex legal terms that people don’t understand what they’re signing. There’s a process that we’ve seen called stipulated removal orders, where people are unknowingly signing their own deportation order, and waiving their right to have that day in front of a judge,” Ramos says. “Don’t sign anything you don’t understand, whether it’s because it’s in English, or just in really complicated legalese.”
Be prepared
Encountering immigration officers can be scary, even if you’re a U.S. citizen, but for those worried about their status, it can be helpful to have information and resources prepared ahead of time. Pilar Rocha-Golberg, Executive Director of El Centro Hispano in North Carolina, tells Rolling Stone that preparation can take away stress if you are detained by immigration. This includes having the phone number of a lawyer on hand that you know can help. It is also helpful to have all of your immigration paperwork in one place where it’s easily accessible. For people who have kids, having an emergency contact with legal residency status who has permission to pick them up from school can also be helpful.
“Have an action plan. Hopefully, you never need it, but if you do, you are prepared,” Ramos adds. “Make sure you have an emergency contact who has some form of lawful status here in the United States and knows where your documents are stored at home. Have, in a secure place, documents that are going to show [your] history here in the United States so you already have everything organized and you’re ready to defend or present your case without needing to try and think about, ‘Where is my pay stub from five years ago?’”
Help others to help yourself
Even if you’re a citizen or permanent resident, there are ways you can help your community members. Rocha-Golberg encourages those that are concerned with Trump’s new policies to get in contact with local immigration law centers in their cities, especially as further Trump policies might target federal grants and funding. “We are asking our allies to also participate in these Know Your Rights sessions to learn the things they can continue telling the people from our community. They can help with administrative tasks, they can donate, and they can help at power of attorney clinics and drives. We need notaries, we need lawyers, we need interpreters.”
“One of the things that is really important is bearing witness to what is happening. If you are out in the community and you do see an ICE action or raid taking place, record it,” Ramos says. “Make sure that the people who are being detained know that there’s somebody there who has their side. People can feel really alienated during these times, and it’s really important for people to just know that you’re not alone and that there are people who support you.”
Knowing Your Rights Is Not A Crime
Since the Trump administration has continued to target immigrant communities, many federal officials have spoken out against Know Your Rights informative sessions and training. When talking about Chicago, where ICE recently conducted several raids, Trump border czar, Tom Homan, called Know Your Rights training “how to escape arrest” in an interview with CNN. But knowing your rights isn’t a crime — it’s a helpful tool and necessary for communities that might be impacted by Trump’s crackdowns. “These Know Your Rights materials that are provided to immigrant communities can be lifesaving,” Altman says. No matter who is president, everyone living in the U.S. has certain basic rights under the U.S. Constitution. Undocumented immigrants have these rights, too. It is important that we all assert and protect our basic rights.”
For more information on Know Your Rights training and information, visit El Centro Hispano, the National Immigration Law Center, or the National Immigrant Justice Center.
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