Tips:
- Carry evidence of your legal status with you if you have it.
- Carry a “know your rights” card with you at all times to refresh your memory and to show to police when you are asserting your right to remain silent. (These are free and available at the Miranda Law Firm)
- Carry a copy of your G-28 if you have an attorney. You have the right to contact an attorney at your own expense.
- Have a plan. If any member of your household is detained, know who to call, who can care for children, who can pay a bond. You want to stay calm and enact a set plan.
- Assert your right to remain silent by stating that to law enforcement.
- Do not EVER claim to be a U.S. Citizen.
I don’t have lawful status, what do I do if I’m stopped by Police?
Are you driving? That will make a difference in what you are legally required to provide. If you are driving in Garland Texas, or anywhere else in Texas you must provide your driver’s license and proof of insurance. But you don’t have these, so now what? You need to remember that in Texas it is unlawful to lie about your name. You do have the right to remain silent and should assert that right verbally after providing your name, residential address and date of birth. You don’t have to identify your birthplace or nationality and shouldn’t. The burden is on immigration officials in deportation proceedings to prove your nationality so there’s no reason to help them do that. If they ask for your consent to do anything, do not consent.
What about the police or Immigration (ICE) showing up at your home?
You still have rights! Don’t open the door if they don’t have a valid warrant. A valid warrant will be signed by a judge, not an ICE official. You can ask to see it through the window or have them slid it under your door. Don’t invite them into your home. Don’t consent to a search of your home. Let them come back with a proper warrant before you open a door to them.
