The Trump administration says enforcing the nation’s immigration laws is important to national security and public safety.
The American Civil Liberties Union of Washington says they’ve been giving more “Know Your Rights” training to groups across the state.
The United States Constitution applies to all people in the U.S., regardless of citizenship status.
ACLU attorney David Montes says the information the organization shares with immigrant communities is primarily about their rights when interacting specifically with immigration enforcement officers and, more generally, with police.
Montes says that if a person is approached by immigration enforcement or police, what they should do depends on the situation.
“Sometimes a law enforcement officer is going to have a warrant, or a federal immigration officer is going to have a warrant, and that warrant will [indicate] a specific place [and] a specific person that allows law enforcement to go into that place and arrest that person,” Montes said.
“That doesn’t mean the person has to talk to them. They still have the right to remain silent, and the other people there are not required to talk to them,” he said.
Montes says another scenario people should be aware of: If police have what’s called “Reasonable Suspicion” that someone has a prior order of deportation, they can be arrested if seen in public. But if an officer doesn’t have a warrant, they can’t go into private places.
“The same rules apply to immigration enforcement or law enforcement, as applied to anyone else, unless they have a warrant. And that applies to your home, to places of work, to schools, churches, anywhere,” Montes said.
Montes says if you’re approached by an ICE officer, you’re not obligated to talk to the officer. Montes says you can ask, “Am I free to leave?”
“That will tell you where you are: whether they have a warrant or reason to detain you, or whether they’re just talking to you and you can go on your way,” he said.
For more “Know Your Rights” information, go to ACLU.org.
