Know Your Rights: Interacting with ICE and Federal Law Enforcement
By Samantha Monteiro, Communications Intern
This guest post does not necessarily reflect the views or expertise of Human Rights First.
A 41-year-old Honduran man named Aaron had been living in Washington, D.C. with his wife and two children for six years, working to support his family as a maintenance worker. The life he built in the Columbia Heights neighborhood, with its vibrant immigrant community, was disrupted in September: he was detained by federal officials who determined that he did not have a legal immigration status after pulling him over for not making a full stop at an intersection on his way home from a park with his family. Aaron told The New York Times that he did not know how his family would be able to pay for food or rent without him.
Aaron’s story is one that is unfortunately becoming increasingly common since the ramping up of ICE enforcement operations across the country since the start of the second Trump administration
Since August, the administration has deployed federal law enforcement, the National Guard, and ICE agents to cities across the country. From a federal takeover of Washington, D.C. to deployments in Portland and immigration crackdowns in Chicago, North Carolina, and New Orleans, law and immigration enforcement officers have been visibly present in many U.S. cities.
While the expanded presence of ICE and law enforcement officers is a dramatic abuse of power by the Trump administration, individuals are entitled to certain rights when interacting with law enforcement. These rights range from agents’ abilities to search your home, the information they can request, and rights under arrest.
Right to remain silent
If you are stopped, detained, or arrested by law enforcement, you have the right to remain silent. This includes if a law enforcement officer, immigration agent, or other official asks for your immigration or citizenship status—you do not have to disclose this information to them. However, if you do share the information, it is important not to provide false information.
Additionally, if immigration agents request documents from you to prove your immigration status, you will have to provide them if you have them. Law enforcement officers are also allowed to request that you show your license and registration if you are stopped while driving, which you will have to give them. In some states, you have to tell an officer your name if they ask you, but you can remain silent after that.
Rights when stopped by an officer
If you are stopped by a law enforcement officer, you can ask if you are allowed to leave. If they say yes, you can leave, but if they say no, you are being stopped. Officers can only stop you if they have reasonable suspicion that you have committed or are about to commit a crime. If an officer asks to search you, you have the right not to consent to the search, but they may continue anyway.
Right to a lawyer
If you are arrested by the police, you have the right to an attorney, and the government must provide you an attorney if you do not have representation yourself.
You also have the right to call an attorney if you are detained by ICE or Border Patrol, however, the government does not have to provide you with one. Additionally, you have the right to call an attorney if you are in ICE detention.
Right to a warrant
No law enforcement or immigration officer can enter or search your home without a warrant. The warrant must be a judicial warrant issued by a court and signed by a judge. An administrative warrant, which is signed by a law enforcement officer, only gives officers the authority to arrest someone and does not give them the authority to search your home.
If you or someone you know is detained by ICE
If you or someone you know is detained by ICE, having an emergency plan can help keep yourself and your loved ones safe.
The ReadyNow! app developed by Human Rights First’s Innovation Lab in partnership with Acacia Justice Center and Corazón Norte allows you to launch an emergency plan with one click. You can enter in your personal emergency plan including childcare, legal defense, and personal safety information, and press a button to share that information with a list of trusted contacts in the event that you are detained by ICE.
All of your data is kept private in ReadyNow!. Information is only shared with your contact list when you launch the plan and is immediately cleared from your phone afterwards.
You can also opt in to be connected with no-cost legal support options when you launch your emergency plan.
You can learn more about ReadyNow! here: https://readynowapp.org/
