How to teach your community their rights

This page is for the person leading the session. The rights themselves are explained in full on Your rights if immigration agents come. This is general information, not legal advice.

Why teach rights at all?

Because fear makes people freeze, and practice helps. Legal trainers use role plays so people build the "muscle memory" to use their rights under stress (ILRC skits, 2017). You give your community something no flyer can: a room where they can ask, rehearse and leave with a plan and a phone number.

What can I teach, and what must I leave to a lawyer?

You can teach general rights that apply to everyone: the right to stay silent, the right not to open the door, the right not to sign, what a judge's warrant looks like. You can hand out red cards and DNLH pages, and you can share local help lines.

You cannot give legal advice about a person's own case. USCIS says people who are not lawyers or accredited representatives may give only limited help filling out forms and may not give legal advice (USCIS). That means you do not answer "Should I apply?" or "Will my record hurt me?" or "Can I travel?"

Use one sentence for those questions: "That depends on your case. Please ask our lawyer tonight, or call this number." Then write the question down for the Q and A.

The red card itself says it does not give individual legal advice (ILRC). Your session should not either. More on the line: Can our church or community group help neighbors fill out immigration forms?.

How do I get ready?

Three to four weeks before:

1. Book a legal partner. Ask a local nonprofit legal service or your county's rapid response network. In San Mateo County, the county funds Faith in Action to run the rapid response line (San Mateo County). In Santa Clara County, the rapid response network offers know your rights trainings on request (Amigos de Guadalupe).
2. Order red cards. They are free. Nonprofits that serve immigrants can get them shipped free from ILRC, and anyone can print their own (ILRC). Never buy them from strangers online; ILRC warns about people selling them.
3. Pick a space people already trust, with a private room and no sign in at the door.
4. Plan for language. Run the session in the language people speak at home, with interpreters for others. Red cards exist in 59 languages.

The week before: 5. Read the current rules. Read Your rights if immigration agents come and What has changed since 2025. Check their dates. 6. Print the warrant comparison, the role play cards and your county's rapid response number. 7. Plan childcare in a separate room, so parents can listen and kids don't absorb fear.

How do I keep people safe and private?

• Never ask anyone's status, on paper or out loud. Say at the start: "No one here needs to share their status."
• No photos or video of attendees. No live streaming.
• No sign in sheet, or first names only, kept by one person and destroyed after.
• If agents come to your building, your point person says, "Please wait here," and calls your lawyer and the rapid response line. Federal rules require a warrant or consent to enter private areas (8 CFR 287.8(f)(2)). Legal groups advise not giving consent without a judge's warrant. Since January 2025, places of worship and schools have no special federal protection; ICE decides case by case (ICE).
• At a school, ask for your district's policy first. California law limits agent access to nonpublic school areas. See What schools and child care centers should do if immigration agents arrive.

What are the core rights to teach?

Teach five things, and repeat them:

1. You can stay silent. The Fifth Amendment protects you from being forced to be a witness against yourself (Bill of Rights). Say: "I want to remain silent." Do not answer where you were born or how you came.
2. You can keep your door closed. The Fourth Amendment protects your home from unreasonable searches (Bill of Rights). Ask agents to slide any paper under the door.
3. Only a judge's warrant lets agents in. ICE forms I-200 and I-205 are signed by immigration officers, not judges (8 CFR 287.5). Show both side by side. See How to tell an ICE warrant from a judge's warrant.
4. Do not sign anything before talking to a lawyer.
5. Do not lie, and do not run. Never show false papers or claim to be a citizen. That is a federal crime (18 U.S.C. 911) and can ruin a future case. Silence is always allowed.

Then add: carry your lawyer's number and the rapid response number, and make a family plan.

What is new to teach in 2026?

Older trainings were written before these changes. Update your talk:

• Forced home entry. A May 12, 2025 ICE memo says officers may force entry to arrest someone with a final removal order using Form I-205. The DHS Secretary paused that practice on May 8, 2026, but did not cancel the memo (DHS letter). Teach: keep the door closed, ask for the paper, and if agents force their way in, say "I do not consent" but do not resist (ACLU of Northern California).
• Masks and no ID. Courts have blocked California's mask and officer ID laws for federal agents, for now (Ninth Circuit, October 14, 2026). Agents may not show a face or a name. Rights stay the same.
• Fast track removal anywhere. Expedited removal now reaches people across the U.S. who cannot show two years here. Teach people to keep proof of how long they have lived here. See Can I be deported without seeing a judge?.
• No safe places list. Churches, schools and hospitals no longer have special federal protection (ICE).
• Fewer bond hearings. Many people who entered without inspection are being held without bond while courts decide the issue. That makes a family plan more urgent.
• Language and disability. People can show a red card instead of speaking. See Your right to an interpreter and disability help.

What does a 75 minute session look like?

What role plays work?

Give each pair a card. One plays the agent, one plays the resident. Then switch. Keep the "agent" calm and firm, not scary.

• At the door. Knock. "Open up, ICE." Resident: "I do not open the door. Please slide your warrant under the door." The resident checks it for a judge's signature and a court name.
• On the street. "Where are you from?" Resident: "I want to remain silent. Am I free to go?" If yes, walk away calmly. See What to do if ICE or police stop you.
• In the car. Driver shows a license if they have one and stays silent on everything else.
• At work. "Please wait here. I will get the manager." See What to do if ICE comes to your work.
• The paper. Agent: "Just sign here and you can go." Resident: "I will not sign anything without my lawyer."
• The witness. A neighbor films from a safe distance and does not get in the way. In California, recording an officer in a public place is not a crime by itself (Penal Code 148(g)). See How to safely watch and record ICE activity.

After each one, ask: "How did that feel? What was hard?"

What should I never teach?

• Never tell people to lie or carry false papers.
• Never tell people to run or physically resist, even if agents act unlawfully. Rights get fought for later, in court.
• Never promise that a right will stop an arrest. Rights protect your case. They do not guarantee an outcome.
• Never guess at a legal answer. Refer.

What happens after the session?

• Follow up in one week with the help list and links.
• Offer a family planning night. See How to lead a family preparedness workshop.
• Invite people to train as rapid responders with your county network. See How your church or group can start or join a rapid response network.
• Recheck the rules every few months. Update your slides.

Questions leaders ask

Do I need permission to use ILRC red cards? Anyone can print their own from ILRC's files (ILRC). Download only from ILRC.

What if someone shares a scary personal story? Thank them, keep it private, and connect them to the legal partner after the session. If someone is thinking about suicide or is in emotional crisis, they can call or text 988 (988 Lifeline). If someone is in danger right now, call 911.

What if I get a question I can't answer? Say so. "I don't know, and I won't guess. Our lawyer will answer." That builds trust.

Can kids attend? Teens often benefit, and many translate for parents. Younger children do better in a separate room. For teens, see Know your rights: a guide for undocumented young people.

Who can help?

Contact them to confirm hours, languages and openings. Being listed here is not a referral or a promise of service.

• Anywhere in the United States: ILRC know your rights materials and the DOJ pro bono list
• Anywhere in California: your county network on the CCIJ rapid response list
• San Mateo County: rapid response line, (203) 666-4472, run by Faith in Action with county funding (San Mateo County)
• Santa Clara County: rapid response network, report ICE activity (408) 290-1144; trainings on request (Amigos de Guadalupe)
• San Mateo and Santa Clara county residents: Community Legal Services in East Palo Alto, 650-326-6440 (CLSEPA)

One evening of practice can change how a whole family responds. Thank you for leading it.

Is there a checklist I can print?