Immigration Action Center
Know what to do if an immigration agent (ICE) or Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officer comes to your home or work and how to prepare for it.
Resources on this page will help you know and assert your rights, and protect the rights of coworkers, clients, or patients.
Need assistance now? The Washington Immigrant Solidarity Network (WAISN) has a Deportation Defense Hotline where you can report ICE/CBP raids, learn about your rights, and access community support.
WAISN Deportation Defense Hotline
Call 1-844-724-3737 Monday – Friday 8am to 6pm*
Spanish and English are spoken, with interpretation available in almost 300 languages.
*Calls from anonymous numbers or calls from outside the United States are not accepted
What if immigration officers come to my clinic or place of work?
If ICE is at your place of work, stay calm. Remember you have the right to remain silent and follow your organization’s policies. Lean on your leaders and find your organization’s primary contact for further instructions.
These resources are here to help:
Click for resources
- How to Prepare for ICE/CBP – A quick checklist to help clinics prepare for an unannounced visit from ICE/CBP officials.
- Guidelines for ICE/CBP Visits at a Clinic – Guidance on things to do and not do when visited by ICE/CBP officials.
- Internal Protocols for Interactions with Immigration Officials – A comprehensive guide from the California Primary Care Association on how to develop rules and procedures for clinics.
- Internal Protocols for Interactions with Immigration Officials (Template) – A sample template of internal clinic policies for interactions with immigration officials.
- Response to Immigration Worksite Audits and Raids Flyer – A printable flyer focused on preparing for an audit or raid by ICE/CBP. (Spanish)
- Know Your Rights – Healthcare Providers – A list of your rights as a health care professional as well as your patients’ rights.
- Know Your Rights – Employers – A guide for employers on how to protect your organization and employees.
- California Primary Care Association Immigration Resources – A selection of resources from the California Primary Care Association.
- Interrupting Criminalization – 13 principles to support people’s agency, self-determination, dignity of risk, and general well-being.
- NWIRP Advisory to Nonprofit Organizations and Social Services Providers – Questions and answers on immigration for nonprofits and social service providers from Northwest Immigrant Rights Project.
What if immigration officers come to my home?
First, know your rights –and don’t open the door.
Use these resources to make a plan, and remember to always carry a red card.
Click for resources
- Step-by-step Family Preparedness Plan – This toolkit details how to create a plan for immigrant families to prepare for immigration emergencies.
- Know Your Rights: If ICE Visits Your Home – This flyer from the American Immigration Lawyers Association details your rights if immigration officials come to your home. See below for additional languages.
- Spanish | French | Chinese | Hindi | Haitian Creole | Portuguese | Tagalog
- Your Rights with Police & Federal Immigration Authorities in WA – A flyer describing what law enforcement and immigration officials can and can’t do. (Spanish)
- Know Your Rights With ICE Flyer – This flyer from the Washington Immigrant Solidarity Network covers your rights when encountering immigration officials, including what a valid warrant looks like. See below for additional languages.
- Spanish | French | Portuguese | Somali | Lingala
- Asian Americans Advancing Justice – Know Your Rights – AAJC has created a shareable graphic in multiple languages detailing your rights if immigration officials knock on your door. See below for additional languages.
- Asian Americans Advancing Justice – Mini-Cards – AAJC has also created “mini-cards”, a similar idea to red cards, covering basic rights when encountering immigration officials. See below for additional languages
- Immigration Preparedness Toolkit – This kit covers important topics for immigrants with no legal status or in mixed-status households. (Spanish)
- Protect Your Rights – This booklet covers what you need to know to protect your rights during immigration arrests or raids.
- ¡Protéjase de las redadas de inmigración! – This flyer, in Spanish, covers how to protect yourself from immigration raids.
What if I, someone I love, or a member of my community is detained?
No matter what your immigration status is, you have rights and can get legal support.
These resources will help with next steps.
Click for resources
- Washington Immigrant Solidarity Network (WAISN) Deportation Defense Hotline – Call (844) 724-3737 to speak to a representative Monday – Friday 8am to 6pm. They can help get you started in the right direction.
- What to Do if You Are Questioned, Arrested or Detained – This PDF from the National Immigration Law Center covers what rights you have if any law enforcement agent questions you, arrests you or detains you. See more languages below.
- Spanish | Chinese | Haitian Creole | Vietnamese | Tagalog | Arabic | Korean
- A Guide to the Northwest Detention Center – This pamphlet has been prepared by the Northwest Immigrant Rights Project to provide useful information to friends and family of detainees at the Northwest Detention Center. (Spanish)
- ICE Online Detainee Locator System – This online search tool can help locate a loved one or community member if they have been detained by ICE.
- National Immigration Legal Services Directory – This directory helps you search for immigration legal services by state, county or detention facility.
- Fair Fight Bond Fund – A community fund that supports paying for bonds set by immigration authorities that a detainee doesn’t have the resources to pay.
How to prepare as an organization for an ICE visit
Additional tools and resources for health care providers, community-based organization, and employers.
Click for resources
- Guidelines for ICE/CBP Visits at a Community Organization – Guidance on things to do and not do when visited by ICE/CBP officials.
- How to Prepare for ICE/CBP (Non-Clinic Version) – A quick checklist to help community organizations prepare for an unannounced visit from ICE/CBP officials.
- California Train the Trainer Toolkit – A comprehensive toolkit to help educate individuals that want to share Know Your Rights Information with their workplace and/or community.
- Deportation Defense Hotline Flyer – These flyers, created by the Washington Immigrant Solidarity Network, provides information about their Deportation Defense Hotline, as well as detailing how the hotline can help. (Spanish)
- Types of Warrants (Visuals) – This PDF shows the difference between a legitimate judicial warrant and one that many ICE/CBP officers are using.
- California Primary Care Association – Immigration resources, including ways to protect patients, policy guidance and ways to educate your community.