NOTE: This is a working document, undergoing regular updates, translations, and legal review.
If you are interested in volunteering, please sign up for a training using these links: verifier training or operator training. You can also share resource flyers in your neighborhood! Download Maine ICE Watch Hotline multilingual small flyers, large poster, small poster.
- Know Your Rights – All American residents have rights!
- Make Your Plan – Prepare yourself and your family.
- Find Resources – Find organizations and tools near you that offer support.
- Documenting ICE – Send your photos and videos HERE
- Support Detainees – Coordinate support for people detained by ICE.
- Take Action – Get involved! Support Your Community!
KNOW YOUR RIGHTS
All people living in the United States have rights—regardless of your citizenship status. Take a moment to learn about YOUR personal rights. You should learn about your rights beforehand so you can exercise them when needed.
- KYR – Know Your Rights (Video Series)
- Rights and Awareness for Unaccompanied Children
- Helpful Tools – Check out this KYR App HERE to help carry know your rights information with you in your phone.
Additional Reading – Check out these multilingual and scenario-based KYR resources by ILAP, CLINIC, and the ACLU.
MAKE YOUR PLAN
While we hope for the best, we need to plan for the worst. Specifically, when preparing for a potential detention and deportation, you need to:
- Take a Moment – It’s stressful and scary to prepare for a potential detention and deportation. Take a moment to care for yourself and your loved ones. If you are an immigrant experiencing significant stress, consider reaching out to the ShifaME program by Spurwink or Generational Noor.
- Write Down Your Basic Family Information – Use the worksheet to record your key personal and medical information. Please also record contacts of friends who can support you and your attorney if you have one. Memorize phone numbers.
- Prepare Your Documents – Whether you (1) have valid immigration status, (2) do not have valid status but have applied/ have an open case, or (3) are undocumented/ your status expired, you should make copies and keep certain documents on you at all times. See the link above for more information.
- Coordinate Care for Children – Prepare your family in case of a detention. With support from a family law attorney, consider setting up plans to ensure another person to act on your behalf and will always be able to care for your children. For more in depth information, see this guide by Public Counsel.
- Financial Planning – Prepare your finances in case of a detention. Check out this worksheet to begin planning for your financial assets in the event of a detention. Consult with a lawyer to set up a Power of Attorney, ensuring you and your family have continued access to your finances. Check out these free financial education trainings to strengthen your personal finances and consider setting aside some money in the event you or a family member is detained.
- Red Cards – Carry Documents on Hand! They are a helpful reminder! Print out a “Red Card” to keep with you. This card will remind you of your rights and what to say to an immigration officer if you ever need help remembering them.
- Helpful Tools – Consider downloading the ReadyNow! App or InstaSOS App write out and set up your textable emergency plans and notifications.
Additional Reading – Check out these thorough workbooks by the Appleseed Network and the Immigrant Legal Resource Center. We also recommend this resource related to life after deportation.
FIND RESOURCES
Organizations in Maine are offering help to meet your basic needs: food, housing, health care, and more! If you are looking for people who can support you, please:
- Resource Directories – Check out Find Help and/or 211Maine to find organizations offering resources to meet basic needs in Maine.
Call the MIRC Hotline – Call 207-544-9989 to ask about organizations near you offering support.
YOUR RIGHT TO RECORD
Everyone in the United States has the constitutional right to record public officials, including immigration or law enforcement officers, as long as doing so does not interfere with their duties.Your first priority, however, should be to do no harm. Please note that exposing someone’s identity could put them at greater risk.
Additional Reading – Check out this Resource Library on how to film ICE interactions, which includes resources in many languages.
Learn how to Safely Film Immigration Enforcement.
SAFETY NOTE: Your Safety – Do not attempt to verify (check on) whether ICE is present in your community if you are concerned about your safety. Things like perceived identity (race, gender, mental health status, etc), vulnerable immigration status, or criminal/ legal history could elevate risk. Be aware: Law enforcement officers are trained to prioritize their own safety during encounters. This can make filming situations tense or unpredictable, so assess your own safety first
SAFETY NOTE: Your Wellbeing – Witnessing and experiencing state violence can be traumatic. Try to identify things to calm yourself and care for others. If you are able, ask the person experiencing violence what they need and what could help de-escalate the situation
SAFETY NOTE: You and Your Devices – All of Maine is within 100 miles of the U.S. border, therefore you and your devices are more vulnerable to searches. Laws and policies are constantly changing here, so we recommend regularly consulting the ACLU Maine Know Your Rights page and the other links here for up-to-date information.
SUPPORT DETAINEES
If someone has been detained, you and your community need to work together to support them. The key steps of Detainee Support are below. **Starred items are important to do first, but all items should be covered rapidly. For additional information on detainee support, check out the National Immigrant Justice Center.
**Detainee Tracking and Court Date – One of your first actions in supporting a detainee is to find out where they have been taken and if/ when their court date is.
- Track Detained Person’s Location – Identify where the detained person is HERE. Please note that you need the individual’s A-Number and country of birth OR their full name and country of birth in order to track their location.
- Detention Center Contact – Search detention center contact information HERE. You may contact the detention facility to schedule calls or visits. Some facilities allow for in-person visitation while others may provide for video-visitation only.
- Court Date – Check their immigration court case status (if they have a court date yet) by clicking HERE. Please note that you need their A number and country of birth. If you have any trouble finding your court date, check out ILAP’s great Self Help Guide.
**Coordinate Legal Representation – Immigration cases for detained people move quickly, and it is important to quickly coordinate legal representation for the individual who has been detained. To find a lawyer, check out the resources below.
- Consultation with Maine Law – Set up limited legal consultation with student attorneys at Maine Law’s Refugee & Human Rights Clinic (RHRC) for those without a lawyer while you continue to search for an attorney. The Clinic is open to doing consults with noncitizens detained by ICE at Cumberland County Jail and other detention facilities in Maine. Call between 8am – 4pm, Monday through Friday at:
- Greater Portland Area – 207.780.4370
- Outside of Greater Portland Area, Toll Free – 877.780.2522
- Emergency Assistance from ILAP – Request an appointment online or email the Immigrant Legal Advocacy Project (ILAP) at info@ilapmaine.org in your language to request emergency immigration help.
- Please provide the following about the person detained: Full legal name, Language, Country of citizenship, A-number, location where currently detained, brief description about how, where, when they were detained.
- Use these resources to identify immigration attorneys:
- Watch out for Fraud – There is a list of Currently Disciplined Immigration Practitioners. If your lawyer is on this list, cease communication. Get a new lawyer.
- Additional Reading – We also recommend you check out these Do’s and Dont’s with Your Legal Representative and Common Scammer Actions of people offering immigration assistance. You can also check out this Electronic folder of resources and LUCE Legal Resources Folder Legal Help for more.
Collect Needed Information – Collect information related to the person detained and their family. Ask the following questions:
- Basic Information – Record their full legal name and address. Record family information such as spouse, children, and other live-in relatives/ friends.
- Immigration/ Criminal Information – What is the person’s A# and country of birth? How did the person enter the country? If they crossed the border, were they arrested/apprehended/detained by border patrol? Collect any prior immigration applications filed and receipt notices, as well as any police reports, probable cause affidavits, charging documents, and sentencing documents.
- Emergency Plan – Does the person who was detained have an emergency plan for them and their family? Collect and review all documents they have prepared.
- Detention Incident – Describe everything that happened, starting with when you first realized agents were present? Who else was present? Was anyone else detained? What did the agents say? Did they aggressively touch or move anyone? Was anyone hurt? Do you have other concerns about how they treated you?
- If this was a workplace, has the employer been notified? Are there concerns that agents might return? Do the workers feel prepared for how to defend their rights?
- If this was a neighborhood, do your neighbors already communicate with each other via WhatsApp or another chat? Do you feel prepared to identify agents if they come back?
Community Support – Identify community organizations that can support detainees and their families. Connect with:
- ECBO’s – the detainee’s Ethnic Community leader. Reach out to MIRC if you are unsure who this may be at hcropsey@maineimmigrantrights.org.
- Employer – the detainee’s employer HR office, if relevant, to alert them to the detention, check ongoing employment, and see what support they can provide to the detainee and their family.
- Local Groups – local community groups, such as faith communities, PTO’s, social clubs, neighborhood associations and others nearby who can coordinate community care and mutual aid.
- Local Nonprofits – other nonprofits in your area who can help! Check out Find Help and/or 211Maine for potential supporting nonprofits.
- Hotline – If you need help finding local resources, try calling the Hotline! 207-544-9989
Financial Assistance – Coordinate financial assistance for the detained individual, especially considering: Bail Bond, Commissary, and Family Finance Assistance. The following organizations are growing in Maine and here to help.
- Solidarity Fund – Inquire for financial support HERE. This fund is eligible to immigrants, undocumented community members, and other marginalized communities, offering the following supports:
- Bail and bond payments for those unlawfully detained
- Legal representation and defense attorney fees
- Emergency family support when breadwinners are detained
- Application fees for immigration documents
- Community Relief Fund (CRF) – Inquire for financial support HERE. This fund is a community and BIPoC led, autonomous, mutual aid, and rapid response effort eligible to families coping with the emotional and financial burden of loved ones taken by ICE or Border Patrol in Wabanakiek (Maine). CRF offers support for expenses such as:
- Bail Support: When bail is available, help free detained loved ones.
- Monetary Support: Financial support to families coping with the emotional and financial burden of loved ones in detention. This can include keeping the lights on, staying housed, emergency bills, gas, bail, legal, or translation fees.
- Resource Sharing: By collaborating with national and local organizations, we share resources to build a stronger support network for those affected.
- Family Strategy Support: We understand that families and situations are dynamic and never exactly the same. Each situation requires both attention to what is immediate at hand and pro-active strategy to keeping families safe and connected.
- Mainers for Humane Immigration (Flyer) – Inquire for financial support HERE, email support@mainersforhumaneimmigration.org or call their intake Hotline at (207) 747-1409. This fund is eligible for people in ICE detention and the families left navigating its consequences, offering the following supports:
- Commissary Support: Deposits to individual commissary accounts so people in ICE detention can buy key supplies and make calls.
- Release Support: Limited help with immediate needs upon release, such as a bus ticket home or overnight lodging.
- Bond Fund: We maintain a small bond fund, reviewing requests case-by-case, depending on available funds and volunteer capacity.
- Paper Bridges: A volunteer letter-writing program connecting people in detention with volunteers through regular correspondence. This program helps break isolation, provides encouragement and monitors for human rights abuses.
- Project Relief ME – Inquire for financial support HERE. This fund is a Black immigrant-led mutual aid group delivering urgent support food, housing, legal aid—to those impacted by ICE and systemic injustice. This organization offers:
- Emergency Mutual Aid: Food, housing, legal support for immigrants in crisis.
- Community Solidarity: Diapers, groceries, transport & clothing drives
- Boston Immigration Justice Accompaniment Network (BIJAN) – Inquire for financial support HERE. This organization offers:
- Immigration Bond: Bond for people with a connection to the state of Massachusetts (detained in MA, living in MA, with immigration court in MA) when we have the funds.
- Direct Action Solidarity Fund – Inquire for financial assistance HERE. This fund is for people detained during protests.
TAKE ACTION
Volunteer and Donate to Organizations and Key Funds!
- LEGAL SERVICES
- FINANCIAL RESOURCES
- COORDINATING ORGANIZATIONS
- IMMIGRANT SERVING ORGANIZATIONS
