Everyone living in the U.S. has certain basic rights under the U.S. Constitution, no matter who is president. Undocumented immigrants have these rights, too. It is important that we all assert and protect our basic rights.
If you find you have to deal with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) or other law enforcement officers at home, on the street, or anywhere else, remember that you have the rights described in this factsheet. The factsheet also provides suggestions for what you should do to assert your rights.
You have the right to remain silent.You may refuse to speak to immigration officers.
Don’t answer any questions. You may also say that you want to remain silent.
Don’t say anything about where you were born or how you entered the U.S.
Carry a know-your-rights card and show it if an immigration officer stops you.
The card (scroll up to see the card) explains that you will remain silent and that you wish to speak with an attorney.
Do not open your door.
To be allowed to enter your home, ICE must have a warrant signed by a judge. Do not open your door unless an ICE agent shows you a warrant. (They almost never have one.) If an ICE agent wants to show you a warrant, they can hold it against a window or slide it under the door. To be valid, the warrant must have your correct name and address on it.
You do not need to open the door to talk with an ICE agent. Once you open the door, it is much harder to refuse to answer questions.
You have the right to speak to a lawyer.
You can simply say, “I need to speak to my attorney.”
You may have your lawyer with you if ICE or other law enforcement questions you.
Before you sign anything, talk to a lawyer.
ICE may try to get you to sign away your right to see a lawyer or a judge. Be sure you understand what a document actually says before you sign it.
Always carry with you any valid immigration document you have.
For example, if you have a valid work permit or green card, be sure to have it with you in case you need to show it for identification purposes.
Do not carry papers from another country with you, such as a foreign passport. Such papers could be used against you in the deportation process.
If you are worried ICE will arrest you, let the officer know if you have children.
If you are the parent or primary caregiver of a U.S. citizen or permanent resident who is under age 18, ICE may “exercise discretion” and let you go.
Because Donald Trump has made many anti-immigrant statements, ICE and other law enforcement officers may think they can get away with violating your rights. Sometimes ICE officers lie to people in order to get them to open their doors or sign away their rights. If ICE detains you or you are concerned that they will conduct raids in your area, this is what you can do:
Create a safety plan.
Memorize the phone number of a friend, family member, or attorney that you can call if you are arrested.
If you take care of children or other people, make a plan to have them taken care of if you are detained.
Keep important documents such as birth certificates and immigration documents in a safe place where a friend or family member can access them if necessary.
Make sure your loved ones know how to find you if you are detained by ICE. They can use ICE’s online detainee locator to find an adult who is in immigration custody. Or they can call the local ICE office. Make sure they have your alien registration number written down, if you have one.
You can call the Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR) hotline number at 240-314-1500 or 1-800-898-7180 (toll-free) 24 hours a day, 7 days a week to get information on your case’s status.
The ACLU was able to halt the Muslim Ban for the time being. The stay is only temporary but it means that Trump’s executive order can’t be implemented and that all current detainees at airports need to be released.
“you’re an art model does that mean you’re NAKED?” “yeah” “whoa….those lucky artists ;)”
…buddy.
idk who started the idea that life drawing classes have anything sexy going on like. there’s at least ten people in the room and we’re all tired and covered in charcoal.
the dude in front who’s staring at my boobs has been trying to get the shading right for 10 minutes. he’s almost out of paint. he is crying.
The ice burg being frozen solid because there are NEVER ENOUGH SPACE HEATERS.
I was an artist’s model in uni since it paid better than any other student work position. Did a life drawing class one semester, despite it being an unheated old building in the winter evenings, because the instructor was a decent fellow who always had extra space heaters. So there I am one evening, exhausted from my team’s afternoon practice, but I’m in a comfortable position on a padded stool, ready to hold the position for like fifteen minutes. Space heaters all around me, spotlights on me to get shadows in interesting places.
Beyond the red glow of the heaters and the hot-white of the spotlights, the massive drafty room is dark and quiet, broken only by the instructor’s whispers and the scratch of charcoal on paper. Me, I’m just dozing, ‘cause my ancient dorm was heated with creaky old steampipes that never really got warm, and with the new extra-powered space heater alongside the others, that night was the warmest I’d been in a month. I dozed, basking in the glorious warmth.
And then I fell asleep.
And then I fell off the stool.
I woke up rather abruptly on the cold wooden platform, and looked up to see an entire ring of terrified and worried faces around me. Everyone had their hands up, ready to help me up, except no one had touched me. Naked chick laid out face-down on the floor, and all the men and women were suddenly acutely aware they couldn’t just grab a half-asleep dazed naked chick.
Fortunately someone had the bright idea to tear the sheet down from the backdrop, lay it over me as a wrap, and then everyone was quick to help me up.
After that, the instructor and students got used to taking turns talking to me, just to make sure I wasn’t dozing off. Which was weird, at first, because I’d done two semesters just being a silent prop, and now I was interacting. It gave the class a vibe completely unlike any other I’d modeled for, and it ended up one of my favorite modeling experiences.
postscript: months later, walking on campus with someone who’d eventually become my spouse, we passed some guys on the main path. One of them stopped, peered at me, and then said hello, excitedly, saying, “sorry, I didn’t recognize you, I’ve never seen you with your clothes on!”
