Know Your Rights: Five Things Parents Detained by ICE Should Know

If ICE arrests you, ICE’s policy says the arresting officer should allow you to make arrangements for your child’s care. You can demand to call family or someone else you trust to come get your child and make plans for their care. ICE is supposed to wait until that person arrives and is not supposed to leave your child alone. If you cannot find someone to take care of your child or if the arresting officer thinks your child is being hurt or neglected, ICE policy says the officer must call child protective services. In that case, that agency will come to take custody of your child.

If ICE is arresting you, their policy says they should not take your child as well. That means ICE officers are not allowed to put your child in their car or take them away from a parent being arrested, unless they have a warrant to arrest the child too.

It is also important to know that:

• You do not have to tell the immigration agent your child’s immigration status. You should only tell them who will take care of your child and ask to call that person. The person you choose to care for your child should have legal status or U.S. citizenship.
• If the arresting officer has a warrant for your child or finds out your child does not have legal status, they may detain your child with you. You could be sent to a facility for adults and your child might be sent to a different facility for children, or you could be jailed together.
• If you have a child who came to the U.S. alone and was later placed in your care by the government (a child considered an “unaccompanied child” or former “unaccompanied child”), ICE’s policy says the arresting officer must contact local authorities.
• If your child is a U.S. citizen or has valid legal status, ICE is not supposed to arrest or detain them.

While you are in ICE detention, ICE’s policy says they should not transfer or move you away from your child. If your child has a court case with child welfare authorities, ICE should keep you near that court. If there is a detention center closer to your child or the child welfare court, you can ask ICE to move you there. The choice is up to ICE to approve or deny your request.

If you want to see your child while in detention, you have the right to have regular visits with your child. ICE’s policy says you have to make your request in writing. Do not let that stop you from asking to visit your child in person, but you might have to write it down or have someone help you write it down. Jail staff are supposed to help set up a visit within 30 days after you ask. In some jails, in-person visits are not allowed. If that happens, jail staff should help you have a video or telephone call with your child. You can also ask to be moved to a jail that allows in-person visits, but ICE does not promise they will approve that ask.

If a court or child welfare agency requires you to visit with your child, ICE policy says they must make that visitation possible.

Some jails have people called “custody and removal coordinators.” They are not the same as your ICE officer. Some jails may call them “social workers” even though that is not their official title. Their job is to help you make plans for someone else to care for your child while you are in ICE detention. They can also help you talk to a case worker in the child welfare system if you have a child in the court system and you need help making case plan requirements to get your child back. This help might include:

• Helping to set up phone or video calls with lawyers.
• Helping you ask for a visit from your consulate to apply for passports or other travel documents.
• Helping to set up calls or meetings with a case worker, if your child is in the child welfare system.
• Sharing information with your child’s caregiver about when you may be deported so that you can try to leave together.

It is also important to tell the custody and removal coordinator or any other staff in the detention facility if your parental status changes so they can make sure your parental rights are protected. For example, if you or your partner has a new baby born while you are in detention, or if one of your children enters the state child welfare system, it is important for the custody and removal coordinator to know

If you have a family or child welfare proceeding that is necessary to keep or get back custody of your child, you have the right to appear in-person for that hearing. You, the court, or the child welfare agency court must give ICE a written document that says you must participate in such proceedings. This document could be a court notice, a letter, or a court order.

If ICE says they can’t take you to court in person, they may set up another form of participation, like a telephone or video appearance. If there is a custody and removal coordinator in the jail you are being held in, they can also help set this up.

If ICE is going to deport you, you have the right to make decisions about what happens to your child. You can decide to have your child remain in the United States, whether they are a U.S. citizen or immigrant child, even if they do not have legal status. While it is your choice to have your child stay in the United States, ICE policy says the officer is required to have you put this decision in writing. If this is not done, then ICE officers must swear that this was what you told them was your choice. The custody and removal coordinator or other staff are supposed to help you make plans to leave your child with another caregiver, if that is your choice.

You can also decide that your child will leave the United States and come with you. This includes U.S. citizen and immigrant children. In some cases, ICE may give you time to buy flights so you can leave the country together. It may also be the case that a child follows you to your home country after your deportation. ICE is also supposed to allow you to talk with lawyers, consulates, and family members to help you make plans and sign important documents before you leave the country.

You can make a different choice for each of your children if that is what you think is best for them. The choice is yours about what happens to your children, no matter what ICE officers may tell you.

We know many immigrant parents may not have the time or money to hire a lawyer to speak up for them. If your ICE officer is ignoring your requests, or if the custody and removal coordinators are not helping you, you can try calling ICE’s Detention, Removals, and Information Line (DRIL) to make a complaint.  
 
This hotline is free for people in ICE detention. The DRIL line has people who speak different languages and can talk with you, but you might have to wait on hold. Look for a flyer in your housing unit with the DRIL line number (it may be 9116# or 1-888-351-4024).