Immigrants & Immigration

Help for detained immigrants and their families

Know your rights

• What to do if you or a loved one is detained Includes juveniles held prior to a court makes a decision about their case,  awaiting transfer to adult criminal court, or awaiting a hearing or trial in adult criminal court. : English | Spanish
• Know your rights manual for people in detention: English | Spanish 

Paying an immigration bond

• Guide to paying a bond by Community Justice Exchange: English | Spanish
• Midwest Immigration Bond Fund: English and Spanish

Free legal services for detained immigrants in the Midwest

• Midwest Immigrant Defenders Alliance (MIDA): English | Spanish
• National Immigrant Justice Center Detention Project: English | Spanish

Help for non-detained immigrants and their families

• How to prepare for Trump’s mass deportation threats: English | Spanish
• Weekly virtual know your rights training hosted by The Resurrection Project
  • Register here - Thursdays at 6 pm (Spanish) and Tuesdays at 2 pm (English)
• What to do if you encounter ICE: English | Spanish
• Plan ahead to protect your family in the event of deportation - family safety planning in Illinois and Indiana: English | Spanish
• Protect yourself from immigration scams and fraud The deception of someone(s) with intent to cause damage (not including  forgeries and counterfeiting). : English | Spanish
• Know your rights for immigrant workers in Illinois: English and Spanish
• Non-Citizen registration requirement

Self-help materials

• Short-term guardianship When a person is appointed by a judge to take care of a child or an adult with a disability in Illinois: English and Spanish
• Family emergency plan form: English | Spanish
• Get an Illinois driver’s license without a Social Security number A number that the federal government gives to each U.S. citizen. It keeps track of their earnings and retirement benefits. : English | Spanish
• Apply for Chicago Municipal ID (CityKey): English | Spanish 

Tracking ICE enforcement actions

• The Illinois Coalition for Immigrant & Refugee Rights (ICIRR) hotline
  • Call 1-855-435-7693 to report ICE actions in Illinois.
• The Resurrection Project
  • Use the online portal (Spanish) to report an individual ICE arrest.

Social services

ICIRR family support hotline: 1-855-435-7693  

Immigration lawyers and organizations

• Immigration Advocates Network
• List of private immigration lawyers in Illinois
• AILA's Find a Lawyer directory

Resources for organizations that interact with immigrant populations

The following resources are not specific to Illinois.

• A guide for employers: what to do if immigration comes to your workplace - National Immigrant Law Center’s (Jan 24, 2025)
• Advisory to nonprofit organizations and social service providers regarding immigration enforcement - Lowenstein Sandler LLP, Make the Road New Jersey, and Morris County Organization for Hispanic Affairs (Jan 22, 2025 – NJ focused)
• CA Attorney General’s guidance and model policies for public institutions (Dec. 2024 - CA focused. Predates recission of the sensitive locations memo)