Being an undocumented immigrant has never been easy. Recently, though, things have gone from bad to worse. If you have a loved one or someone close to you is worried about their immigration status, here's some vital information they need to know.
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Learn the difference between the police and ICE.
The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) operates under the United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS). While they can identify themselves as the police, they are not your town's police. Also, they can't just go inside private property.
Tell them not to open the door without a judge order.
If anybody identifies themselves as police officer and they ask for access to a home or private property, the resident or owner has the right to ask for a court order. It needs to have the address of the location they want to access, the name of a person and today's date. Otherwise, they can be denied entrance.
They should meet with an immigration lawyer.
There are many lawyers who offer a free consultation. Once you find someone reputable and trustworthy, you should keep their phone number handy in case of an emergency.
Keep your cell phone close to you and fully charged.
This is so important if something awful happens and you need help.
Make an emergency plan.
It's so important to know what to do in case of an emergency. Every undocumented person needs to have a plan, in case they get detained. The most important thing is to have trusted people to take care of the kids. It should be a person who is an American citizen or has a legal immigration status.
And whethere they are parents or not, there should be somebody with all the needed information about their affairs, such as financial and health records, contact numbers and an extra set of keys for the home, among other things.
It's important to register the kids in the consulate of their nationality.
The goverment of their country of birth usually helps in this situations and it's easier to get their attention if the person is registered.
They should never run away from officials or volunteer information.
The best thing to do is to stay quiet and call somebody for help. People can also ask for a lawyer and an interpreter.
They should never lie to authorities.
The least laws they break, the best chance they have in front of an immigration judge. It's important to remain calm and have a lawyer do all of the talking.
