Know Your Rights: Threat of Detention

Information on this page is not legal advice. This content is for information only and we advise you to consult a lawyer.

Know Your Rights: Threat of Detention

Every person, regardless of immigration or citizenship status, has rights in the US.

The U.S. Constitution gives everyone in the US rights. If you are at risk of being detained, be prepared, know your rights, and read what to do if you are questioned or detained.

Be Prepared

1. Memorize phone numbers of your emergency contacts.

2. Carry a list of immigration lawyers* and their phone numbers.

3. Make sure your child’s school has an emergency contact listed who can pick up your child.

4. Give that person power to make legal and medical decisions for your child.

This might include a Power of Attorney and/or a Delegation of Parental Authority.

These forms must be in writing and signed. It is better to have them notarized.

Notaries are available at the county clerk’s office, banks, insurance companies, and law offices. Call them first and ask, “Do you have a notary on staff? Is there a fee to have a document notarized?”

5. Download the Know Your Rights app: Apple or Android

The app will read your rights in English to ICE or other law enforcement.

With one click, the app will text your emergency contact to let them know you are speaking with deportation agents and may be detained.

The app gives information in many languages about your rights and what to do: Spanish, Haitian Creole, Burmese, Korean, Khmer, Lao, Hmong, French, Amharic, Tagalog, Mongolian, Farsi, Bangla, Hindi, Nepali, Thai, Vietnamese, Urdu, Traditional Chinese, Simplified Chinese, and Russian.

6. If ICE detains you, your loved ones can try to search for you online.Give them this link now: https://locator.ice.gov/odls/#/search

7. If you have legal immigration status, always carry your papers. This might include:

  • U.S. passport
  • Work permit
  • Permanent resident card
  • Other documentation

Know Your Rights

You have the right to:

  • remain silent. Say, “I have the right to remain silent.”
  • refuse to let officers search your home, car, or body. They must have a judicial warrant signed by a judge to enter your home without your consent.
  • call your home country’s consulate (if you are not a U.S. citizen).
  • speak to a lawyer before answering questions. Say, “I will remain silent until I speak to a lawyer.”
  • get a copy of your immigration paperwork.

What to Do if You Are Questioned or Detained

  1. Stay calm.
  2. Do not run. Do not fight law enforcement.
  3. Keep your hands where law enforcement can see them.
  4. Do not lie. Do not show fake documents.
  5. If you are undocumented, you can say nothing. Anything you say can be used against you later.
  6. Do not interfere with their investigation.
  7. Record on your phone if it is safe to do so.
  8. Do not sign paperwork you don’t want to or don’t understand.

If you are stopped in your car

  1. Ask if the officer is police or ICE. Ask to see their identification. Immigration officers are not police, but sometimes they say they are.
  2. Keep your hands where law enforcement can see them. Tell them if you need to reach somewhere in your car to get papers.

If agents come to your home

  1. Do not open the door. Teach children not to open the door.
  2. Agents can only come in your home if they have a judicial warrant signed by a judge. If they tell you to open the door, ask if they have a judicial warrant signed by a judge.

If you are arrested                                                                                                      

  1. You have the right to remain silent until you speak to a lawyer.
  2. Do not sign forms you don’t understand.
  3. Call your home country’s consulate if you are not a U.S. citizen.

*Links to lists of legal service providers

 

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