• Ask if they are immigration agents and what they are there for.

• Ask the agent or officer to show you a badge or identification through the window or peephole.

• Ask if they have a [warrant] signed by a judge. If they say they do, ask them to slide it under the door or hold it up to a window so you can inspect it.

• Do not open your door unless ICE shows you a judicial search or arrest warrant naming a person in your residence and/or areas to be searched at your address. If they don’t produce a warrant, keep the door closed. State: “I do not consent to your entry.”

• Do not lie or produce any false documents.

• Do not sign anything without speaking with a lawyer or accredited representative first.

• Remain silent. Say “I invoke my right to remain silent.”

• Stay calm and do not run.

• Say: “I do not consent to you being in my home. Please leave.”

• If they start to search the home: “I do not consent to your search.”

• Do not lie or share where a loved one is

  • Do not give out their phone number. – Ask for ICE to leave contact information.

• Do not give documents (passports, consular IDs).

• Do not interrupt an arrest.

• Tell ICE if you or your loved one has medical issues or needs childcare. 

• Write down or record what happened. It could help the case.

• Stop your vehicle in a safe place as soon as possible. Stay in your car, turn on your hazard lights, interior lights if it’s dark, open the window partially, and place your hands on the wheel.

  • Determine who has pulled you over:  

    • A. If it is a local law enforcement officer who has pulled you over (like a state patrol, police officer, or sheriff), provide your license, registration, and proof of insurance on request. If you do not have any of these documents, do not provide officers with fake documents and do not lie.  

    • B. If it is an ICE officer, first ask if you are free to leave. If you are free to leave, calmly and slowly leave the area. If you are not free to leave, invoke your right to remain silent by informing the officer of your intent to remain silent. 

      • The officer may ask you to provide proof of registration. If the officer asks, you may need to provide USCIS receipts, employment authorization documents, or lawful permanent residence cards. 

    • C. Unless an ICE officer asks you to provide proof of registration, do not provide any officer with information on your immigration status or how/when you came to the U.S. 

  • Regardless of who pulls you over:

    • Do not show false documents

    • Do not carry foreign identification with you

  • The police cannot search your car without a warrant.

  • Do not consent to the police searching the vehicle.

    • Say “I do not consent to a search”

  • The driver, along with the passengers, has the right to remain silent.

    • Say “I invoke my right to remain silent.”

• Ask for a [warrant] and check to see if your name is on it and is spelled correctly. 

• You have the right to remain silent (5th Amendment):  

  • A warrant does not require you to answer questions from officers;  

  • Remain silent. Say, “I am invoking my right to remain silent.”  

• ▪ If you are detained, you have the right to speak with a lawyer: 

  •  Say, “I want to speak to a lawyer”;  

• If you are arrested on a criminal matter that carries possible jail time (i.e., by local police), you have the right to have a lawyer appointed to you if you cannot afford a lawyer; 

  •  If you are detained by immigration officials, you have the right to consult an immigration attorney, but a lawyer will not be appointed to you so you must find your own.  

  • If you are detained, you have the right to make a phone call:

    • You must affirmatively ask to make the phone call. 

  • You have the right to refuse to communicate with officers and to refuse to sign any document before speaking to a lawyer. 

• Do not sign anything. 

• Do not consent to being searched – verbally say, “I do not consent to being searched”. 

• Remain silent – if you choose to speak, do not lie.

• Show your valid immigration documentation or copy of your pending process.

• Ask for a [warrant] and check to see if your name is on it and is spelled correctly.

• Do not sign anything.

• Do not consent to being searched – verbally say, “I do not consent to being searched”.

• Do not run or resist.

• ICE Lies: Do not agree to do what ICE asks. For example, do not follow them to their office, to immigration offices like USCIS, or to meet them for coffee.

• Do not resist arrest, say you wish to remain silent.

• Do not say anything, sign anything or make any decisions without legal representation.

• You have the right to make a local phone call.

• Do not sign any document that you do not understand.

• Activate your emergency plan.