Immigration Raids

For years, IDP has been tracking, requesting information and training community members on immigration (ICE*) raids and arrests. To challenge the practice of ICE raids, communities must understand ICE tactics, help those at risk of deportation prepare, and strategize about ways to fight back through organizing and/or in the courts.

* ICE, or Immigration and Customs Enforcement, is the federal agency responsible for arresting, detaining and deporting immigrants.

Learn about ICE (immigration) raids

• ICEwatch: Created by IDP and the Center for Constitutional Rights (CCR), ICEwatch is  an interactive map that details ICE’s deceptive and aggressive tactics with summaries of over 1400 raids
  • Trends: Starting in January 2020, ICE increased its ICE raids activity in the NYC area. IDP received reports of 143 ICE raids in the first 11 weeks of 2020, over 400% more than the last 11 weeks of 2019. Read IDP updates of ICE raids in NYC since January 2020:
    • Letter to NYC Council January 24, 2020
    • Letter to NYC Council February 14, 2020
    • Testimony to NYC Council February 28, 2020
    • Letter to NYC Council March 17, 2020
  • Click here to view the accompanying Summary of ICE Raid Trends (2018)

• Toolkit by IDP and the Center for Constitutional Rights (CCR) – Defend Against ICE Raids and Community Arrests
  • Learn about our country’s massive detention and deportation system, specific ICE raid tactics, and how communities can prepare to challenge ICE raids. (Ver la versión en español aqui)
• ICE Materials—trainings and guidance to agents on how to conduct home raids.
  • IDP has also received documents on Operation Palladium as part of an ongoing Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request litigated by IDP and CCR.
    
• Primer on ICE Ruses: learn more about what common ICE ruses are, why and how ICE uses ruses, and what you can do to protect yourself from them.
  • ICE ruses flyer—”Ways That ICE Pretends to be Local Police”: Check out common lies ICE tells when pretending to be local police, including lies told in person and over the phone. Available here in English and Spanish.

Defend your community against ICE raids

• Review and share Know Your Rights materials for encounters with ICE (flyers, posters, infographics and videos).
• Help community members at risk of deportation prepare emergency plans.
• Help understand what type of immigration case you could have and what your rights would be in the case of an ICE detention.
• Learn about efforts to get ICE out of courthouses.

Prepare to train community members on encounters with ICE

• If you haven’t already, learn about ICE raids and tactics. (see above)
• Distribute Know Your Rights materials for community members on their rights during encounters with ICE.
• Watch our Train the Trainers video – Know Your Rights: ICE in the community.
• Watch our webinar, co-hosted with WITNESS, about the right to film ICE and documenting ICE abuses and raids. Use the free slides on filming ICE in your own presentations.