Immigrants & Immigration

Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) can arrest people anywhere in the US. Generally, they can arrest people when they are in public, including at work places if ICE agents are allowed to enter the facility. People can refuse to let agents into a private building.

ICE can come to a person’s home to arrest them. They can choose to arrest anyone inside the home that is present and not a US citizen. However, ICE agents must have a court-ordered, or judicial, warrant to make people let them into their homes or buildings. 

Recent Illinois laws provide additional restrictions on ICE enforcement. Starting December 9, 2025, ICE is prohibited from arresting people who are attending court unless ICE has a judicial warrant. ICE cannot arrest people who are going to court, returning from court, or who are on courthouse grounds. This includes sidewalks, driveways, parking lots  or any other public way within 1,000 feet of the courthouse. This applies to Illinois state courts, and not federal or immigration courts. 

ICE agents might not always wear a uniform. This means that you might not know someone is an ICE agent just by looking at them. ICE agents may be masked and wear normal clothing. 

ICE agents are supposed to wear badges that identify them but this might not happen. ICE badges look different from city and county police badges. ICE officers might also wear vests that look like police vests, or say “Police” on them.

If a person is stopped or arrested by ICE, they have rights they can exercise. The US Constitution says that all people, citizens and non-citizens, have the right to remain silent. People can refuse to speak to ICE agents, and can say that they want to remain silent. A person might want to do this so they don’t say anything that would make their immigration case harder for them. This includes information like where they were born, their immigration status, or how they entered the US. It is better to remain silent than to lie or give false information to an immigration agent.

Everyone also has the right to speak to a lawyer Someone who represents clients in courts or who gives legal advice before signing anything. A person being arrested by ICE can say they will remain silent until they can speak to a lawyer.

For more information about a person’s rights when encountering federal agents, go to Illinois Immigration Information Know Your Rights toolkit. Resources include printable door signs and Know Your Rights cards for noncitizens to use. They are available in 16 different languages, including Spanish.

A judicial warrant is signed by a judge, and says that an officer can enter your home without your permission. ICE agents or police officers can open the door and enter a place by themselves if they have this warrant. ICE agents are not likely to have a judicial warrant. 

An administrative warrant does not give ICE agents permission to enter a person’s home. ICE agents can only enter if a person opens the door to let them in. View a sample administrative warrant. ICE agents cannot enter a place without consent When someone gives permission for someone else to do something with this document, if people do not open the door.

People have the right to ask the agent to see the warrant without opening the door to check if it’s judicial or administrative. If it is an administrative warrant, a person is not required to let ICE agents in. It is important to check, without opening the door, whether ICE agents have a warrant. People can request the ICE agent hold the warrant up to a window or to slide it under a door.

For a side-by-side comparison, go to Judicial Warrants v. Immigration Warrants from the National Immigration Law Center.

If someone you know has been arrested by ICE, you can try to find them using the ICE Online Detainee Locator System. You can contact the location to find out their visiting hours and other information about your loved one. 

No. In Illinois, the TRUST Act is a law stopping local law enforcement from helping ICE. Illinois police cannot give anyone in their custody to ICE. Police also can’t respond to any ICE agent's questions.

ICE works with other agencies, like Customs and Border Protection (CBP), to carry out its duties. CBP officers enforce Taking legal steps to make someone do what the court tells them to do immigration law at the borders. CBP officers have also been involved in domestic immigration enforcement in Chicago and other cities.

It might be hard to tell the difference between a CPB officer and an ICE officer. Generally, you should handle an interaction with a CPB officer the same way you would an ICE officer.

ICE is only supposed to arrest non-citizens for things related to their immigration status. 

ICE officers might detain a person who is committing a felony A serious crime that is punishable by more than one year in prison like assaulting them when they are trying to arrest a non-citizen. This applies to both citizens and non-citizens.  

Yes. A person who sees ICE activity in Illinois can call the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights (ICIRR) family support hotline at (855) 435-7693. ICIRR tracks immigration enforcement so they can help people stay safe. They have help available in English, Spanish, Korean, and Polish.

Yes, filming ICE activity is protected by the First Amendment. A bystander should not stop ICE from doing any activities. For safety reasons, consider filming from a safe distance and sending the video to someone else they  trust right away.  If there are concerns about bystanders’ physical safety when witnessing activity, they can write down what they are witnessing instead.

ICE agents are not legally allowed to arrest US citizens. Generally, ICE only has power over non-citizens and issues with their immigration status. 

The law does allow ICE to arrest and hold people until they can confirm they are a US citizen. Once a person who was arrested confirms they are a US citizen, they must be released from ICE custody.

Safety planning is key to preparing for the possibility of arrest and deportation. An immigration safety plan is a list of steps people can take to stay safe if something happens with their immigration status. This could include being stopped by immigration officers, taken into custody, or deported. A safety plan can help you know what to do in an emergency, who to contact, and what steps to take to protect each other. Read more about safety planning for immigrants.

While individuals are not required to explain their immigration status, being prepared with documents that show your citizenship status and answering questions might make the process go smoother. 

You might consider carrying around proof of your US citizenship or lawful immigration status to present to an immigration officer. This might include a copy of your birth certificate, A legal document with a person's place of birth, time of birth, and parents passport, A document that lets a person travel outside the country green card, or other immigration documents. 

These are very important documents so make sure you keep an extra copy of these documents in a safe place so you do not lose them. 

This is not a guarantee that you won’t be arrested but it could help the process go smoother.

If you believe ICE has violated your rights, it is important that you document everything. 

You might consider writing down:

• The officers’ names,
• Their badge numbers and patrol car numbers,
• Any details of the event, and
• Witness A person who answers questions in court under oath contact information.

You can seek medical help for any injuries and document them as well. 

You can report the incident to an immigration lawyer Someone who represents clients in courts or who gives legal advice and file a complaint with the Office for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties.

Under the Illinois Bivens Act, you can bring a civil action against an ICE officer who you believe violated the US or Illinois Constitution. You must bring the suit within two years of the violation.

The National Immigrant Justice Center has information on knowing your rights if you encounter immigration agents and preparing for mass deportation threats.

The Illinois Immigration Information website has the most up-to-date information on recent immigration changes in Illinois. The website is available in over a dozen languages, including Spanish, and contains their Know Your Rights toolkit.