• Always carry any valid immigration document you have with you. This includes a valid work permit, green card, or proof of pending process. Do not carry papers from another country with you, such as a foreign passport. Such papers could be used against you in the deportation process.

• Identify your emergency contacts and memorize their phone numbers.

• Provide your child’s school or day care with an emergency contact to pick up your child.

• Provide authorization in writing for your emergency contact to make medical and legal decisions for your child.

• Tell your loved ones that if you are detained by ICE, they can try to use ICE’s online detainee locator to find you: https://locator.ice.gov/odls/#/search Remember your immigration number ("A" number) and give it to your family.

• Identify a lawyer and memorize their phone number. If you are a current client of Spitzer Immigration law, you should memorize our number (617-936-3242). If you are not a current client and are interested in immigration services, contact our office using this form. If you are not a current client but would like to identify a lawyer in the case that you are detained by ICE, you should identify an attorney who specializes in detained cases. See below for a list of recommendations. Remember that notaries (notarios) are not authorizing to give legal advice

• For more detailed information on making a safely plan, see this family preparedness guide by the Massachusetts Immigrant & Refugee Advocacy Coalition (English, Spanish).

• Stay calm. Don’t run, argue, or obstruct the officer or agent. Keep your hands raised where they can see them.

• Know your rights: You have the right to remain silent. You do not have to answer questions about where you were born, whether you’re a U.S. citizen, or how you entered the country. (Separate rules apply at international borders and airports, and for individuals on certain nonimmigrant visas, including tourists and business travelers.)

• If you’re not a U.S. citizen and an immigration agent requests your immigration papers, you must show them. If you don’t have immigration papers, you have the right to remain silent.

• Do not consent to anything unless you are legally obligated. Do not follow officers to a new location (e.g. their office, a neutral location).

• If you feel safe, document the event. This could include recording the event with your cell phone either through video or audio only. If possible, write down everything you remember, including officers’ badges and patrol car numbers, which agency the officers were from, and any other details. Get contact information from witnesses.

• Do not discuss your immigration status with anyone but your lawyer.

• Tell the officer if you are the parent or primary caregiver of a U.S. citizen or permanent resident who is under age 18. There is a small possibility that ICE may “exercise discretion” and let you go.

• If you are taken into custody, you have the right to a lawyer but the government will not provide one. If you have a lawyer’s contact information, ask to contact the lawyer. If you do not have a lawyer’s contact information, ask for a list of free or low-cost legal services

• Stay calm and keep the door closed. Opening the door does not give them permission to come inside, but it is safer to speak to ICE through the door.

• 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. ICE will often have a warrant of deportation or removal, which is signed by an immigration official, not a judge, and does NOT give them permission to enter the home even if you or another occupant’s name is on it, unless you give them permission. If this is the only warrant they provide, you should NOT open the door. In order for a search warrant to be valid, it must meet the following criteria: (1) be signed by a judge – NOT an immigration official, (2) contains the address of the home to be searched, and (3) describes the area to be searched. The National Immigrant Justice Center provides examples of what a valid warrant looks like here. If you have questions about whether the warrant is valid, contact your lawyer immediately.

• 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.”.

• Don’t lie or produce any false documents. Don’t sign anything without speaking with a lawyer first.

• If agents force their way in, do not resist. If you wish to exercise your rights, state: “I do not consent to your entry or to your search of these premises. I am exercising my right to remain silent. I wish to speak with a lawyer as soon as possible.”

• If you are on probation with a search condition, law enforcement is allowed to enter your home.

• If you are unsure of your ability to confidently assert your rights, consider printing a card which you can hand to law enforcement.

• Stop the car in a safe place as quickly as possible. Turn off the car, turn on the internal light, open the window part way, and place your hands on the wheel.

• Drivers and passengers have the right to remain silent. If you are a passenger, you can ask if you are free to leave. If the officer says yes, calmly leave

• Upon request, show police your driver’s license, registration, and proof of insurance.

• If an officer or immigration agent asks to look inside your car, you can refuse to consent to the search. But if police generally believe that your car contains evidence of a crime, your car can be searched without your consent.

• If you are unsure of your ability to confidently assert your rights, consider printing a card which you can hand to law enforcement.

• Move to a safe indoor space

• If you are a U.S. citizen and feel safe to do so, record the activity with your phone or write down any relevant information about what you witness—ALWAYS being careful to not interfere or otherwise obstruct the operation

DO NOT:

• Post unverified information on social media

• Interfere with the investigation or otherwise put yourself in harm’s way

• “Know Your Rights. Immigrants’ Rights.” American Civil Liberties Union

• “Know Your Rights: If You Are Questioned About Your Immigration Status.” American Civil Liberties Union of Massachusetts

• “Know Your Rights.” Massachusetts Immigrant & Refugee Advocacy Coalition

• Boston area lawyers specializing in detained cases: