Know Your Rights: Immigrants Rights

Printable booklets in English and Spanish are at the bottom of this page here. Haga clic aquí para obtener folletos imprimibles en inglés y español.

Click here to visit the Advocates for Immigrant Rights and Reconciliation (AIRR) Public Resource Packet for organizations and businesses.

Click here to access resources from Kansas Immigration Coalition.

Printable business signs are at the bottom of this page here.

Rapid Response Networks numbers at the bottom of this page.

Click here to see Hold Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Accountable updates

• You have the right to remain silent and do not have to discuss your immigration or citizenship status with police.
• Stay calm. Don’t run. Don’t tell others to run. Don’t argue, resist, or obstruct the police.
• Ask if you are free to leave. If yes, calmly and silently walk away.

• Drivers and passengers have the right to remain silent. If you are a passenger, you can ask if you are free to leave. If the officer says yes, calmly leave.
• If an officer or immigration agent asks to look inside your car, you can refuse to consent to the search. But if police generally believe that your car contains evidence of a crime, your car can be searched without your consent.

• You have the right to remain silent and do not have to discuss your immigration or citizenship status with police, immigration agents, or other officials. Anything you tell an officer can later be used against you in immigration court.
• If you are not a U.S. citizen and an immigration agent requests your immigration papers, you must show them if you have them with you.
• If an immigration agent asks if they can search you, you have the right to say no. Agents do not have the right to search you or your belongings without your consent or probable cause.
• If you’re over 18, carry your papers with you at all times. If you don’t have them, tell the officer that you want to remain silent, or that you want to consult a lawyer before answering any questions.

• Stay calm and keep the door closed. Opening the door does not give them permission to come inside, but it is safer to speak to ICE through the door.
• You have the right to remain silent, even if officer has a warrant.
• You do not have to let police or immigration agents into your home unless they have certain kinds of warrants.
• If police have an arrest warrant, they are legally allowed to enter the home of the person on the warrant if they believe that person is inside. But a warrant of removal/deportation (Form I-205) does not allow officers to enter a home without consent.
• Ask if they are immigration agents and what they are there for.
• Ask the agent or officer to show you a badge or identification through the window or peephole.
• Ask if they have a warrant signed by a judge. If they say they do, ask them to slide it under the door or hold it up to a window so you can inspect it.
• Don’t lie or produce any false documents. Don’t sign anything without speaking with a lawyer first.

• As of January 2025, ICE will no longer consider certain “sensitive” locations as off-limits for enforcement actions, such as schools, places of worship, healthcare facilities, and more.
• Although ICE can attempt enforcement in these locations, they still cannot access non-public areas unless 1) they have a judicial warrant signed by a judge (not just an administrative DHS/ICE order) or 2) someone who reasonably appears to have authority over the property gives ICE permission to enter. This also applies for access to school, employment, administrative, or other records.
• If you’re an individual, you can ask administrators or other people in charge of locations you frequent to clarify their policies, or you can educate them on their right to refuse compliance. If you’re a decision-maker such as a school administrator or workplace manager, you can make a policy that clearly states requirements for ICE to access the facilities.

• Say you wish to remain silent and ask for a lawyer immediately. Don’t give any explanations or excuses. Don’t say anything, sign anything, or make any decisions without a lawyer.
• You have the right to contact your consulate or have an officer inform the consulate of your detention.
• Don’t discuss your immigration status with anyone but your lawyer. While you are in jail, an immigration agent may visit you. Do not answer questions or sign anything before talking to a lawyer. Read all papers fully. If you do not understand or cannot read the papers, tell the officer you need an interpreter.

• Write down everything you remember, including officers’ badges and patrol car numbers, which agency the officers were from, and any other details. Get contact information for witnesses.
• If you’re injured, seek medical attention immediately and take photographs of your injuries.
• File a written complaint with the agency’s internal affairs division or civilian complaint board. In most cases, you can file a complaint anonymously if you wish.

ICTAlerta (Wichita)

ICT ALERTA is a nonprofit, rapid response network based in Wichita, Kansas dedicated to community safety before, during, and after an ICE incident.

Somos Lawrence (Lawrence)

‘Somos Lawrence’ is a grassroots driven project that works to ensure that non-English speaking residents of Douglas County have access to county services through interventions that ease language, cultural, bureaucratic and/or financial barriers.

Sanctuary Alliance (Lawrence)

A collective establishing Sanctuary for Lawrence by holding Lawrence accountable for their interactions with ICE, educating allies on local and national immigration matters, and providing resources & support to the local immigrant community.

New Frontiers (SWKS)

New Frontiers is a nonprofit equipping young Southwest Kansans with the tools to build power through the values of dignity, belonging, and freedom.

El Centro de Servicios Para Hispanos

El Centro, Topeka Immigration Clinic provides legal support for immigrant families and individuals with the goal of empowering Kansas's Latino and immigrant communities to thrive in Kansas.

AIRR

Advocates for Immigrant's Rights and Reconciliation (AIRR) is a KS and MO based non-profit advocating for the rights and well-being of immigrants through community and structural reconciliation.

La Luz Immigration Clinic

La Luz Immigration Clinic is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization sponsored by the Catholic Charities of Northeast Kansas that provides affordable legal counseling and representation for a wide-range of non-business related issues, ranging from naturalization processes to asylum claims.