Know Your Rights and Secure Your Own Community

By the New York State Youth Leadership Council
May 15, 2012

Starting today the program Secure Communities will be implemented in New York City; this means that local police will be required to send fingerprints of everyone arrested to immigration officials. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents will then check to see whether that person should be deported. The program has already been in effect in 31 counties, including Nassau, Dutchess and Westchester and now New York City. The activation of Secure Communities in New York City is a threat to our immigrant communities leading to the deportation of many immigrants who pose no public safety threat to the city, state, or country at all, separating more families, inciting ethnic and racial profiling and negatively affecting the relationship between police and our immigrant communities.

Know Your Rights: What To Do If You're Stopped By Police, Immigration Agents or the FBI
Following are some tips created by the ACLU for interacting with police and understanding your rights.

YOUR RIGHTS
- You have the right to remain silent. If you wish to exercise that right, say so out loud.
- You have the right to refuse to consent to a search of yourself, your car or your home.
- If you are not under arrest, you have the right to calmly leave.
- You have the right to a lawyer if you are arrested. Ask for one immediately.
- Regardless of your immigration or citizenship status, you have constitutional rights.

YOUR RESPONSIBILITIES
- Do stay calm and be polite.
- Do not interfere with or obstruct the police.
- Do not lie or give false documents.
- Do prepare yourself and your family in case you are arrested.
- Do remember the details of the encounter.
- Do file a written complaint or call your local ACLU if you feel your rights have been violated.

IF YOU ARE QUESTIONED ABOUT YOUR IMMIGRATION STATUS
You have the right to remain silent and do not have to discuss your immigration or citizenship status with police, immigration agents or any other officials. You do not have to answer questions about where you were born, whether you are a U.S. citizen, or how you entered the country. (Separate rules apply at international borders and airports, and for individuals on certain nonimmigrant visas, including tourists and business travelers.)
If you are not a U.S. citizen and an immigration agent requests your immigration papers, you must show them if you have them with you. If you are over 18, carry your immigration documents with you at all times. If you do not have immigration papers, say you want to remain silent.
Do not lie about your citizenship status or provide fake documents.
Read more tips when stopped for questioning HERE.

IN DEPORTATION?
Are you in deportation proceedings or do you know someone who is? As part of the National Immigrant Youth Alliance effort, our sister national organization, we are willing to help you on any deportation case as long as you and your community are willing to learn. On May 4th the NIYA launched the program Secure Your Own Community or SYOC.

It's very important for all of us to know how to secure our own community because we know full well no one else will do it for us. If you or someone you know is facing deportation and you'd like your case to be dismissed then please complete this form and we'll be in touch with you.

There is never too much to do, if you know of anyone in deportation and they'd like their case dismissed please get in touch with us. Don't wait until it's too late. You can either fill out this quick 8 question intake form [...] and we'll be in touch with you.

Stay tuned for more updates and share the “Know Your Rights” info with your family, friends and community. Contact us if you have any questions:
info@nysylc.org

Warm Regards,
The NYSYLC Team