What to do:

• Try to stay calm. Be polite. Don’t lie.

• Don’t open the door.

• If you are unsure who is at the door, ask them to slip a card under the door. Through the closed door, ask if they are local police. Remember: sometimes ICE tricks people & announces themselves as “the police.”

• You can ask to see a warrant signed by a judge and request they slip it under the door. If they don’t have one, decline to let them in.

• Say, “I don’t want you to come in. I don’t want to talk to you right now.”

Don’t give information about yourself or loved ones. If they are looking for someone else, ask the officers to leave their contact information.

Your rights: 

If the officers are ICE agents, they cannot enter your home unless they have a warrant signed by a judge, or with the permission of an adult who lives in the home to enter. ICE almost never has a judicial warrant. Instead, they often carry an administrative warrant, which is signed by an immigration official and not a judge. This is not enough to enter your home unless they have permission from an adult.

ICE may try to trick the person at the door to let them in by telling lies about who they are. They may also physically force their way into your home if you do open the door. Opening the door does not give ICE consent to enter your home, but they may push their way in if you do. Whether you decide to open the door or leave it closed, you have the right to remain silent and to not answer any questions.