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Get a free know your rights red card in your language

A red card lets you use your rights without opening your door or saying a word. You pass it to the agent, and it tells them you are using your rights. The cards are free, and you can print them at home in many languages. Here's where to get them, how to use them and how to share them.

Where this applies
The rights on the card come from the U.S. Constitution and apply everywhere in the United States. Local help listed is for San Mateo County residents, with a national directory for everyone else.
Facts checked
Who it’s for

Anyone in the United States, with or without papers, and the families, pastors, teachers and neighbors who want to share cards in their community.

On this page

Take the next step

This page is about red cards only. It is general information, not legal advice. For everything else to do if agents come, see If immigration agents come.

What is a red card?

A small card, the size of a business card, that helps you use your rights. The Immigrant Legal Resource Center (ILRC), a nonprofit, makes them.

Everyone in the United States has certain rights under the Constitution, whatever their immigration status. The card helps you use those rights when you are scared, or when you and the agent do not speak the same language.

What does the card say?

One side is for you. It gives you short reminders: do not open the door, do not answer questions, do not sign anything before you talk with a lawyer, and if you are outside, ask if you are free to go.

The other side is for the agent. It tells them, in English, that:

  • You choose not to talk with them or answer their questions.
  • You will not sign or hand over papers without a lawyer.
  • They may not come into your home unless they have a warrant signed by a judge with your name on it.
  • You do not agree to a search of you or your things.

These rights come from the Fourth Amendment (protection from unreasonable searches) and the Fifth Amendment (you do not have to speak against yourself). The card says it can be used by citizens and noncitizens alike. ICE has claimed one exception for people with a final order of deportation. See the note below.

To read the card itself, open it on ILRC's red cards page. We link to it rather than copy it, so you always get ILRC's current version.

How do I use it?

A knock at the door is frightening. These steps are simple on purpose. If an agent knocks on your door:

  1. Keep the door closed. You do not have to open it. Opening the door can put you and others in your home at risk.
  2. Pass the card through. Slide it under the door, or hold it up to a window so the agent can read it.
  3. Stay silent. You do not have to answer questions. You may ask that any paper be slid under the door so you can see if it is signed by a judge.
  4. Do not sign anything before you talk with a lawyer.

If you have ever had a final order of deportation, talk with a lawyer now, before agents ever come. See the note under What does a red card not do?.

Outside? Show the card, stay calm, and ask if you are free to go. If the agent says yes, you may walk away calmly.

Where can I get a red card for free?

From ILRC's red cards page. There are three ways:

  • Print your own. Download the artwork in your language. Any print or copy shop can print it, or use a home printer. ILRC suggests sturdy, bright paper, rounded corners and, if you like, a plastic cover.
  • Ask ILRC to ship cards free. This is for nonprofits that serve immigrants, and for public defenders. Use the request form.
  • Order a large batch. Businesses, private attorneys and anyone ordering 1,000 cards or more order from RedCardOrders.com, a union run printer. You pay the printer. ILRC says this does not make money for ILRC. Prices are on the printer's site.

Languages. On October 18, 2026, ILRC listed 59 versions, including Spanish, English, Chinese (Traditional and Simplified), Cantonese, Vietnamese, Tagalog, Korean, Hindi, Punjabi, Arabic, Farsi, Dari, Portuguese, Russian, Ukrainian, Haitian Creole, Mam, Nahuatl, Tsotsil, Samoan and Marshallese. Check the page for the full list.

Only download cards from ILRC's site. ILRC says it does not check cards made by others.

How can my church or school share red cards?

Put them where people already trust you. Churches, schools, food pantries and clinics are those places. ILRC suggests ways to share cards:

  • Keep a stack where people wait, like a front desk, a lobby table or a welcome table after worship. ILRC offers a small sign that says the cards are free to take (English and Spanish today).
  • Hand them out at a know your rights night, with a list of local legal help. Act out what to do at the door so people can practice.
  • Give a few to each family, so they can share with relatives and neighbors.
  • Add the cards to flyers for your events, in the languages your community speaks.

Tips for helpers:

  • Print in the languages people in your community read. Ask before you assume.
  • Never charge for the cards.
  • Do not collect names or immigration status from people who take a card.
  • Pair the card with a phone number for real legal help, like the list below.
  • ILRC ships free cards to immigrant serving nonprofits and public defenders. Its page does not mention schools or churches, so ask ILRC through the request form if your group qualifies. Any school, church or family can print the free cards itself.

What does a red card not do?

  • It is not legal advice. ILRC says the card does not give advice about your own case. Talk with a trusted lawyer or a DOJ accredited representative.
  • It is not an ID or a legal paper. It does not give you any immigration status, and it does not prove who you are.
  • It does not stop an agent with a warrant signed by a judge. That kind of warrant can let agents come in. A form from the Department of Homeland Security is not the same as a judge's warrant. See If immigration agents come.
  • It does not promise you will not be arrested. It helps you use your rights calmly. It cannot control what an agent does.
  • It is not a substitute for a plan. Make a family preparedness plan too.

Who can help?

These are free or low cost legal services. The first four are for San Mateo County residents; the ILRC directory and the DOJ list of free legal service providers cover the whole country. Contact them to confirm hours, languages and openings. Being listed here is not a referral or a promise of service.

Only a lawyer or a DOJ accredited representative may give you immigration legal advice. See Warning signs of an immigration scam.

Is there something I can print?

Sources

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Printed from https://donotlosehope.com/guides/red-cards/. Facts checked October 21, 2026. Free information, not legal advice.

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