Immigration Rights Resources
Regardless of your immigration status, you have rights. Be prepared for encounters with police and immigration officers by learning your rights and how to use them.
Learn your rights so you can be confident about what to do if you have to deal with Immigration or the police. Learn strategies for dealing with them if they show up at your home, your job, or in a public place.
Caution!
U.S. immigration laws, policies, and practices continue to change rapidly in 2026. Before making any decisions, consult an immigration attorney. One way to find an attorney is through the American Immigration Lawyers Association Find an Immigration Lawyer.
What do I do if Immigration or the police come to my house?
Stay calm. Do not open the door for Immigration or police unless they have a warrant. A warrant is paperwork a judge signs giving them permission to show up at your house and to search for something.
- Know Your Rights: What to do if Immigration or the Police Come to Your Door
- Prepare Yourself: If Immigration Agents Come to your Home
- Police or ICE are at my home
- Your rights at home and what is a warrant
- Know Your Rights: If ICE Visits Your Home
- Video (English): We Have Rights When ICE is Outside Our Doors
- Video (English): We Have Rights: Inside Our Homes
- Video (Spanish): Las comadres si saben: no abra la puerta!
What do I do if Immigration shows up at my job?
Be courageous and discuss this with your employer in advance. If they show up, stay calm and don't run.
Immigration officers can't enter the job site without permission from the owner or manager. To come into the job site, they must have a warrant.
Remember, you have the right to remain silent and to request to talk to a lawyer. The best preparation is to know your rights.
- Prepare Yourself: If Immigration Agents Come to your Workplace
- Law Enforcement asks about my immigration status
- Your rights on the job
- Your labor rights
- Know Your Rights: A Guide to Workplace Rights for Immigrants
- Know Your Rights: If ICE Comes to Your Workplace
What if I'm in public when I get stopped by police or Immigration?
Stay calm. Do not run. Learn what to do if Immigration or the police stop you on the street, in public, or when you are driving.
- What to do If Immigration (ICE) Stops you on the Street or in a Public Place
- Law Enforcement asks about my immigration status
- I've been stopped by police or ICE
- I am detained while my immigration case is underway
- I need a lawyer
- Prepare Yourself: If Immigration Agents Stop You in Public (not while driving)
- Your rights in the car
- Your rights in detention
- Know your Rights: If ICE Stops You in Public
- Video (English): We Have Rights: In Our Communities, In Our Streets
- Video (English): We Have Rights: If ICE Arrests Us
What if ICE takes me or my family members into custody?
Be sure to make an emergency plan just in case you are deported. Use the ICE locator to find and help someone who is detained.
- Emergency Preparedness: Making an Emergency Plan
- Print a Red Card so you can hand it to an officer if you are worried about remembering your rights.
- Read the Guide on how to use a Red Card.
- Search for someone who is detained using ICE locator.
- Video (English): Know Your Rights & Family Preparedness Video
- Video (Spanish): Las comadres si saben: localize a su familiar detenido!
- Video (Spanish): Las comadres si saben: esté preparada!
- Video (Spanish): Las comadres si saben: La lamada!
- If you need help, use the Legal Help Finder to search for legal help in your area.
Related articles
- Family-Based Immigration: This article provides answers to common questions about family-based immigration.
- Immigration and Criminal Law: This article addresses common questions about immigration as it relates to criminal law.
- Immigration and Employment Law: This article addresses questions immigrants may have about employment law.
- What DACA Is This article addresses frequently asked questions about immigration, education, and Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals.
- Disaster Relief and Immigration Status: This article tells you about concerns that may arise for your immigration status after a natural disaster and what steps to take next.
Sources
- Immigration Rights Resources, TexasLawHelp.org, archived by the Internet Archive's Wayback Machine, July 23, 2025.
```