How to Prepare for Encounters with Immigration Enforcement

With a rise in immigration raids and arrests outside courthouses schools, and at workplaces and other slice-of-life locations — coupled with a slew of Trump policies that whittle away or outright revoke people’s legal status and rights — immigrants across the country, regardless of their status, are increasingly at risk of deportation, detention or the sudden invalidation of legal documents, fueling widespread outrage, fear and uncertainty.

While experts encourage people to familiarize themselves with widely circulated resources like the “Know Your Rights” red card, which offers essential guidance for encounters with immigration authorities, they also emphasize that additional resources are available.

In a shifting legal landscape and while Immigration Customs and Enforcement agents have sought out and arrested immigrants at mandatory check-ins, including in San Francisco, experts urge immigrants to seek legal consultations and create safety plans tailored to their individual circumstances, even before they come in contact with immigration agents.

The Public Press has compiled advice from extensive interviews with four immigration attorneys and advocates, and from several workshops and press conferences discussing immigrant rights:

1. If you have a scheduled ICE check-in or immigration court hearing, consult with a lawyer to plan what to do

An attorney can help you understand the possible consequences if you don’t appear. Even though people have been detained at these check-ins, experts say that missing a hearing could result in an order to deport you.

Several immigrants were reportedly instructed to go to an office at 478 Tehama St. over the weekend for ICE check-ins. However, the office did not open on Saturday and no ICE operations appear to have been carried out either Saturday or Sunday. Two immigration attorneys the Public Press spoke with noted that weekend summons are unusual and advised immigrants to send proof that they appeared for the check-in to any channel of communication they have with ICE. One way to do so is to take a selfie showing they went to the building.

Here are some things you can do to prepare before your check-in:

Contact your immigration attorney.
If you don’t have an immigration attorney and live in or have a case in San Francisco, you can call the Rapid Response Network and ask for a legal consultation with a qualified attorney to go over your case. You can also take a questionnaire created by the city to see what other groups in San Francisco might be able to assist you.
Request accompaniment from a volunteer with the response network at your hearing or ICE check-in.

2. Have a plan in place in the event that you encounter or are detained by ICE

Carry the correct immigration documents. This may vary depending on your legal status. Attorneys generally advise exercising your right to stay silent and not provide information or documents without a lawyer present if approached by ICE agents. You are not required to produce these documents when asked, unless the agent approaching you has a search warrant with your name and the address of the intended search, that is signed by a judge. Do not carry false identity or immigration documents.

If you have valid immigration documents, like a green card or a work permit, you are required to carry them with you. If you are approached by ICE agents and feel it would be safer to show your documentation, you may do so to clarify your status. If it seems that you are about to be arrested, showing your documents could help. But you are not required to offer anything unless you are entering the country or presented with a warrant.
If you do not have authorization to be in the country, or your documents have expired, but you have a pending case, carry the documents that show you are taking steps to secure authorization to stay. If you encounter agents and it seems that you are about to be arrested, you may show these documents to law enforcement, but you are not required to offer anything unless you are entering the country or presented with a warrant.
If you are undocumented or your immigration status has expired and you have not applied for a renewal or new status, some lawyers say you should not carry identification that indicates you were born abroad, such as a consular ID or foreign passport. If you have stayed in the United States for at least two years, carry proof of your living here. You do not need to show it if you are stopped for questioning, but you are advised to show it if you are arrested. This can protect you from being quickly deported without seeing a judge. These documents can prove you have been living here:

Your rental or home purchase contract
Church or school records with your address
Mail sent to you at your home address, including the postmark that shows when it was mailed
Other documents that show your name, a U.S. address and date

Keep a note with contact information in case you’re detained. It should include:

Names, phone numbers and addresses of trusted family and friends.
Contact information for your immigration lawyer or a local legal service provider (e.g., San Francisco Rapid Response Network).
A list of your doctors, their contact information, medications you take and their dosages.

Carry a red card noting your constitutional rights. You can hand it to an immigration agent to exercise your right to remain silent.
Memorize the following information:

The phone numbers of trusted family and friends
Your Alien Registration Number — this is the number that appears with “A#” on your immigration documents — if you have one. If you are arrested, share this number with your support network to help loved ones keep track of where you are being held.
The phone number of your attorney and your local Rapid Response Network

Make an emergency plan for if you’re detained

Organize your documents in a safe place. If it is not practical to carry originals of the applicable documents at all times, at least carry a copy.
Get a legal consultation with an attorney now to evaluate your immigration status and reduce your risk of deportation if you are detained. Click the following link for a list of local organizations offering consultations: https://immigrants.sf.gov/help/screening
Identify your emergency contacts and create a communication plan with them. Choose at least one trusted person in the U.S. who can act on your behalf if you are detained, arrested or deported. This person should be ready to:

Contact an immigration lawyer and the local Rapid Response Network.
Contact your family and support network.
Know how to access your immigration documents, where they can see your Alien Registration Number, or A#, to locate you if you’ve been detained.
Help provide or find child care or dependent support for other family members who rely on you for care, especially in mixed-status households.
Access and manage documents, car keys, bills, or funds if needed.
Have your doctor’s contact information, a list of your medications (including names and dosages) and important health details.

3. What to do if you encounter ICE

ICE agents might disguise themselves as local police, according to the American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California. They might not wear identification or clothing that indicates they are immigration enforcement, and they might say they are investigating a crime or doing a wellness check, or make other claims. In general, experts recommend talking as little as possible with officers and immigration agents, but specific laws govern these interactions.

Don’t speak to law enforcement without a lawyer present. If you are approached by police officers, sheriff’s deputies, ICE agents or Department of Homeland Security personnel, you don’t need to talk to them or explain why you are not speaking to them.
Do not lie to or threaten law enforcement. This can expose you to criminal liability.
You have the right to document your interactions with ICE as long as you don’t hinder their activities. Immigration advocates say these records can help show if your rights were violated, and can be used in advocacy or to fight unconstitutional practices in court. Write down information like the date and time, agents’ names and badge numbers, documents they show you, what they say to you and any other actions they take. Do not impede agents’ activities.
Consider whether you are in a private or public place. Regulations restrict ICE agents’ actions more tightly in a private space than when they approach someone in public. Apartment units and student dormitories are considered private, while public bathrooms or parts of businesses where anyone can enter are generally considered public. Though it isn’t always obvious if a place is public or private, you can ask yourself: Is this space open to anyone? Is there a clear and obvious expectation of privacy? A locked door could signify an expectation of privacy.

If you are approached in a private space: Agents need a judicial warrant or consent to enter and search a private space, except in certain emergencies. If an agent shows up at a private space, you do not need to let them in or allow them to search the property unless they present a search warrant signed by a judge. Make sure it has the correct name and the address of the location to be searched. Agents might present an administrative warrant not signed by a judge; this is a different document and you do not need to let agents in if this is all they show you.

If you do speak to agents, do so through the locked door. Tell them to slide any warrants under the door or put them through the mail slot.
If you allow them to enter a space, you can retract consent by saying, “I do not give consent for you to remain here” or “I no longer consent to you being here.” They might not listen in the moment, but if you can document that you withdrew consent, this can help you later on in court. Do not try to escape. This can give law enforcement a reason to detain you.

If you are approached in public: If you are in public, such as on the street, in a car or on public transit, agents can approach and detain you. Ask the officer, “Am I free to go?” If the answer is “yes,” you can walk away. If they say “no” or don’t answer, say “I do not want to answer any questions. I want to speak to a lawyer.”

If an officer attempts to search your pockets or belongings, tell them, “I do not consent to you searching me. I want to speak to a lawyer.” Again, they might not listen, but stating this clearly and documenting that you said it could help with potential future litigation or legal arguments.

4. What to do if you are arrested by ICE

If you are arrested in San Francisco, you may be held at the ICE field office at 630 Sansome St. to be photographed and fingerprinted before being transferred to a detention center in Bakersfield or out of state and formally booked.
If possible, before being transferred, call your immigration lawyer. If you don’t have one, call the San Francisco Rapid Response Network and give them your name, or ask your emergency contact to do so. The Rapid Response Network can send someone to the ICE field office to provide you with support, referrals and options.
Do not sign anything you don’t understand. You could unknowingly sign a self-deportation order or waive your right to see an immigration judge. If you are given a document and instructed to sign it, say, “I do not want to talk with you until I can talk with a lawyer, and I do not want to sign anything.”
You have the right to due process. After booking, you should be scheduled to see an immigration judge as part of an immigration hearing. You have the right to be represented by an attorney but the state is not required to provide you one for free. You should ask the judge for a list of pro bono legal service providers in your area, which judges must provide on request. You also have the right to remain silent until your attorney is present; you can say, “I would like to continue my hearing until I get an attorney.”
At your hearing, you are entitled to interpretation services if you do not speak English.
Once you get sent back to the detention center after the hearing, call your emergency contact and the list of lawyers if the center where you are being detained allows calls. This might cost money. You might also be able to send emails, write letters or have in-person visits, depending on the facility. At the Mesa Verde ICE Processing Center in Bakersfield, your loved ones cannot call you directly but they can leave messages for you.

Bay Area Rapid Response Networks by Madison Alvarado and Zhe Wu / San Francisco Public Press