Your Rights at Your Door

A checked version of this page, approved on 26 July 2026, was based on this revision.

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General information, not legal advice. These guides are written by the community, laws vary by state, and policies change. For advice about your own situation, talk to an immigration lawyer (how to find a real one, free if needed).

If ICE knocks, you do not have to open the door. Opening the door is how most home arrests start. Everything below works best from behind a closed, locked door.

The one rule

Do not open the door. You are not required to. Speak through the door, or not at all. If you open it, agents may claim you consented to entry or step inside.

Ask to see the warrant

Say: "If you have a warrant, slide it under the door or hold it to the window."

There are two very different kinds:

A judicial warrant is signed by a judge and says a court name at the top, such as "U.S. District Court" or a state court. Only this kind allows agents to enter your home without consent. Check that it has a judge's signature, your correct name and address, and a valid date.
An ICE administrative warrant (Form I-200 or I-205) is signed by an ICE officer, not a judge. It does not allow them to enter your home. You can keep the door closed.

What to say

Through the door, or by holding up a red card:

"I do not consent to your entry."
"I am exercising my right to remain silent."
"I want to speak to a lawyer."

You do not have to answer where you were born, how you entered the country, or your status. This applies to everyone in the home, whatever their status.

Know the tricks

Agents sometimes:

Say "police, open up" without saying ICE. You still do not have to open.
Claim they are looking for someone else, or investigating a crime, to get invited in.
Show a photo and ask if you know the person. You may stay silent.

If they force entry

Do not physically resist. Say clearly, so witnesses and cameras can hear: "I do not consent to this entry or search." Observe everything: names, badge numbers, what they touched, who they took. Write it down the moment you can, and see Information to Document.

Prepare before it ever happens

Tape a red card by the door and brief everyone in the home, including children old enough to understand: nobody opens the door to agents.
Make a Family Preparedness Plan now, while things are calm.
Save the hotline numbers in every phone in the house.