Rapid Response Network

Guidelines for RRN phone volunteers

1. What is your name?

2. Where are you? Please give your address/exact location.

3. Who wants to speak with you (ICE, Police, etc.)?

4. Where is this person?

Say "I want to tell you your rights."

1. You have the right not to open the door.

You don't have to open the door to ICE UNLESS they have a valid search warrant or an arrest warrant. You can ask them if they have a warrant and ask to see it. This is true for immigrants and citizens, no matter what your status. They cannot legally enter your home by force without a warrant. A real warrant is signed by a judge.

2. You have the right not to speak with them.

You do not have to talk to the police, or ICE or answer their questions even if they have a warrant.

You can make phone calls while deciding if you want to let them in or talk to them.

If you do talk to the police, or ICE, they may use what you say to detain or deport you even if you have done nothing wrong. If you let them into your home, they may find things that they will use to detain or deport you or others living with you.

3. You do not have the right to physically resist the police, even if they do something wrong.

4. Green cards must be shown if asked for.

If you are stopped by ICE they can ask you for your green card or other immigration documents and you must present them if you have them.

IF they are in a community that has a Rapid Response Team:

Then Ask: Would you like witnesses to be present and do you want to wait until they can be there before making a decision about what to do?

If they say they are willing to wait, ask them if they have a lawyer who should be called. Then tell them that you will be sending witnesses over to their location. Explain you need to terminate the call in order to contact them and will call right back.

**Call the team of witnesses that is either on duty now or next on the list until you find two people who can go. Give them the information from the caller and find out when they can both be at the caller's location.

**Then call the caller back and tell them when the witnesses are coming. If the witnesses will be there soon, try to keep the caller on the phone until the witnesses arrive. If the witnesses will not be there soon, try to get the caller to tell the authorities to come back when the witnesses can be present. Also emphasize that we strongly recommend a lawyer be present as well.

Try to discourage them from saying too much about their legal status or what they think is the problem, especially if the authorities are within earshot.

If the caller is being detained before witnesses can arrive, ask the caller if they want the detention to be publicized within the community. Inform them that such publicity may lead to an early release, although this can not be guaranteed. Get as much information as possible about where the caller is being taken and who is doing the detention.