On Monday, Texas governor Greg Abbot announced that Texas DPS and ICE were cooperating in a raid on Colony Ridge, a housing development outside Houston. Reporters present at the neighborhood on Monday noticed state troopers making traffic stops as well as many DPS and unmarked vehicles patrolling the neighborhood. If you live in Colony Ridge, or if you have loved ones that live there, this can be a scary time. Colony Ridge has been the subject of many conspiracy theories over the last several years, and it has been the target of increased state and federal law enforcement. For immigrants in Colony Ridge or in other neighborhoods that may be raided by ICE, it is important to know your rights, and also the risks you potentially face.
How can I find a family member or loved one who has been detained by ICE?
If you believe that someone you know has been detained by ICE, you can locate them by using the ICE Detainee Locator at: https://locator.ice.gov/odls/#/search. You will need certain information about your loved one to be able to locate them: either their A-Number and country of birth; or their full name, country of birth, and date of birth. The ICE Detainee Locator cannot tell you about the status of their immigration case or the date of their next court hearing. It will simply confirm the individual is detained by ICE and provide the name of the detention facility. If you know your loved one’s A -Number, you can also search their court hearing information here: https://acis.eoir.justice.gov/en/.
The ICE Detainee Locator sometimes takes a few days to update, so if you think your loved one has just been arrested recently, you may need to wait a few days for their information to show up in the ICE online system. You should also keep in mind that if ICE arrests someone with an already existing removal order, ICE can deport them from the United States very rapidly. In those situations, you may not be able to find information about your loved one in the ICE Detainee Locator or EOIR Case Information because they have already been deported to their home country.
Do detained immigrants have a right to an attorney?
Immigrants in ICE detention can have an attorney, but they do not have the right to one. Unlike in our criminal justice system, the government will not provide an attorney to an immigrant if he or she is not able to afford one themselves. Having an immigration attorney represent you in deportation proceedings can be very beneficial, and in complex or difficult cases, almost necessary. According to an AIC study, immigrants in removal proceedings are five times more likely to win their case in Immigration Court compared with immigrants who are not represented by an attorney.
Detained individuals can meet with their attorney in person (the attorney schedules the visitations with the detention center staff) or by phone (the attorney arranges the call). During a consultation for a detained individual, the attorney can discuss their immigration history and review potential avenues for relief.
