Sample Request to Remove Electronic Monitoring

Disclaimer: This sample resource provides general information for people facing immigration detention and enforcement. It is not legal advice specific to your situation. We recommend that community members exercise caution and speak to an experienced immigration lawyer about their individual cases.

Instructions: ICE will require some people to wear electronic monitors on their ankles or wrists as part of their “Alternatives to Detention” program. This sample request can be copied and used by anyone who needs to ask ICE to take off the electronic monitors. It was specifically made for pregnant people. See our related Know Your Rights resource for more details.

Date
Enforcement and Removal Operations
Insert the ICE Field Office where you live. For example, “New Orleans Field Office”
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement
Department of Homeland Security

RE: A# write in your alien number from your immigration paperwork – Request to Have VeriWatch Removed for Pregnant Woman

Dear Officer,

I am writing to respectfully request that my VeriWatch be removed. I am pregnant. Proof of my pregnancy is included.

The 24-hour electronic monitor is causing me mental and physical problems. Here, include some examples:

• Example- The anxiety of making sure the watch is always charged or the worry it will go off by accident makes me stay indoors all the time except for medical appointments. This anxiety is raising my blood pressure, something I need to control during my pregnancy for my safety and my child’s.
• Example- I am also anxious and worried about what will happen when I go into labor. I worry that doctors will not know what to do about the watch if I need to have a surgery or some special procedure. The agreement I signed warns me that the watch has magnets that do not work with some other medical devices. I also am afraid that ICE officers will come to the hospital because the watch gets taken off and I will be arrested at the hospital.
• Example- The watch is too tight and is hurting me constantly. My weight is changing because of this pregnancy and it is hard to have this watch fit correctly.

If necessary, I ask that ICE move me to a different type of monitoring like using the Smartlink application or telephone check-ins. I know that ICE has said in the past that pregnant women should not be electronically monitored.

I am not a flight risk. Here, list the reasons why you will follow ICE rules to show up at future hearings, appointments, and if necessary, leave the United States.

• Example – I have other young children and I am their caretaker. They are enrolled in a local school and I would not leave our community because of them. My extended family is also here and I would not leave them.
• Example- My pregnancy requires that I remain in my current location so that I can see my local doctors.
• Example- My attorney is working on my immigration case and I wish to see it through to the end.

Finally, I am not a danger to the community. Here, list the reasons why you are not someone who will hurt the public or other people in your life.

• Example- I have no criminal record.
• Example- My criminal case has been dismissed or My criminal case is completed and I have followed the court’s instructions on any consequences.
• Example- I do not drive and am not a danger on the road or I have never had a car accident and in my state, I have the right to a driver’s license.

If you need more evidence or documents to make your decision, please let me know. Thank you for reading.

Sincerely,

Add your name, phone number, address, and an email address (if you have one) to receive a response.