Know Your Rights

An immigrant rights advocate would advise individuals who are stopped or detained by immigration authorities (such as ICE or CBP) to exercise their legal rights calmly and assertively. Key advice includes:

1. Remain Silent: You have the right to remain silent. You are not required to answer questions about your immigration status, birthplace, or how you entered the country. Say, “I am exercising my right to remain silent.”(ACLU, Know Your Rights).
2. Do Not Sign Anything Without Legal Counsel: Signing documents can lead to removal without a hearing. Insist on speaking with a lawyer first. (National Immigration Law Center NILC).
3. Ask to Speak to an Attorney: You have the right to a lawyer, though not at government expense in immigration proceedings. Say clearly, “I want to speak to a lawyer.” (Immigrant Legal Resource Center ILRC).
4. Do Not Lie or Provide False Documents: Lying to immigration officers or providing fake documents is a criminal offense and can harm your case.
5. Carry a Know Your Rights Card: This card states your right to remain silent and request an attorney. Hand it to the officer if you are afraid to speak. *
6. Do Not Open the Door Without a Warrant: If ICE comes to your home, you are not required to open the door unless they present a judicial warrant signed by a judge. Administrative warrants (I-200 or I-205) are not sufficient.
7. Document the Encounter: If safe, take note of officers’ names, badge numbers, and what was said. This can support future legal challenges.

These basic rights and strategies can help protect individuals from coercion or unlawful detention. It’s critical that immigrants and their families are prepared in advance and have an emergency plan.

Immigrant rights cards and instructions on what to do in encounters with the authorities at the homes of immigrants or elsewhere can be printed in nineteen different languages using the options provided by the Immigrant Legal Resource Center.