Sharing Knowledge, Shifting Power

Visitation hours and rules depend on where your loved one is detained.  To find out where your loved one is detained, use https://locator.ice.gov/odls/#/index.  After that, follow this link https://www.ice.gov/detention-facilities to find out the visiting hours for that specific facility.

Call 1-800-898-7180 or go to https://acis.eoir.justice.gov/en/.

If you were the victim or witness to a crime, the police should not ask about your immigration status or contact ICE to verify your status. Nevertheless, we have learned of incidents where the police have contacted ICE anyways and you should be aware that this is a possiblity.

No. You have the absolute right to represent yourself. If you want to bring a lawyer, you have the right to contract one at your own expense. At your first court hearing, the court will often give you more time to look for a lawyer. If you do not come with a lawyer at your next hearing, you will need to be prepared to represent yourself. You can still decide to contract a lawyer after that if you want and that lawyer will know how to send the court notice that they are now representing you.

The first step is to check the ICE detainee locator:  https://locator.ice.gov/odls/#/index. If they are not listed, you can also call your local ICE-ERO (enforcement & removal operations) office. You can find their contact information at https://www.ice.gov/contact/field-offices.

A U visa protects victims of certain qualifying crimes (like trafficking, domestic violence, sexual assault, felony assault, and domestic violence) from deportation if they help law enforcement investigate and prosecute criminals. If you're granted a U visa, you can get a work permit and apply for lawful permanent residence after three years.

Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) is a policy implemented by Obama to temporarily protect young people who were brought to the U.S. as children from deportation. It provides eligible immigrants with temporary, renewable work authorization as well.  To be eligible, someone must have arrived in the US before they turned 16 and before June 15, 2007; be under the age of 31 as of June 15, 2022; either be currently enrolled in school, have completed high school or its equivalent, or be a veteran; have no lawful status; and not have been convicted of any felony offense, significant misdemeanor, or multiple misdemeanors.

‍Litigation Update: For the last several years, the legality of DACA has been in question and the issue is currently being fought out in the courts.  As a result, no new DACA applications are being processed.  Individuals previously granted DACA can and should renew their DACA status and work authorization.

For more information about eligiblity requiremenets and the current status of DACA visit: https://immigrationequality.org/legal/legal-help/other-paths-to-status/deferred-action-for-childhood-arrivals-daca/.

If you are stopped for a minor violation, like a traffic violation, the police may not detain you for longer than the purpose of the original stop to verify your immigration status. (Unfortunately, even though this is illegal, we know this happens all the time.  Be sure to tell your immigration attorney if this happens to you).  If you are under arrest, the police can verify your immigration status before releasing you. This can take up to 48 hours.

Complete and submit the EOIR-33IC form by mail (form available at: https://www.justice.gov/eoir/form-eoir-33-eoir-immigration-court-listing) or online at https://respondentaccess.eoir.justice.gov/en/forms. Whether you do this process by mail or online, you need to print two additional copies of the form - one to mail to the attorney for ICE and one for your own records.