Detention & Deportation Defense: Know Your Rights

Image by John Hain from Pixabay

Monday, January 20, 2025, marked the start of a new presidential administration whose reforms are sure to impact all sectors of American life, including agriculture, industry, commerce, and manufacturing, as well as education, healthcare, technology, media, and the environment. Changes to the immigration system, a central focus of this administration’s platform, are also expected, and, along with many other Day One initiatives, are already taking shape. Immigration reforms, in particular, have been a cause of great worry, fear, and anxiety for the 11 million unauthorized immigrants living in the United States. The CBP One App was immediately deactivated, and a flurry of executive orders have already been signed. AILA, the national bar association of immigration lawyers, compiled a policy brief of the initial immigration directives, which it says “will not only undermine the orderly and efficient operation of the immigration system that is essential to the nation’s prosperity but also destabilize American families and communities.” AILA supports what it calls measured immigration reforms “that protect longtime undocumented residents from removal without causing fear and disruption in local communities.” While a majority (66%) of Americans, according to a very recent Axios/Ipsos poll, favor the deportation of immigrants who are in the country illegally, few of those supporters strongly endorse the use of more extreme removal mechanisms (which are detailed in the survey results).

For information about the rights that are guaranteed to all people living in the U.S. regardless of immigration status, as well as a variety of Know Your Rights guides for people who are confronted by police or Immigration and Customs Enforcement in their homes, at work, while driving, or out in public spaces, please consult the list of resources below:

Know Your Rights, A Guide for Citizens and Immigrants

Self-Help Resources

Legal Advocacy Organizations