Valley Watch Network

Understanding your rights is the first step toward protecting yourself, your family and your community. This section provides crucial information about the rights that everyone in the United States, including undocumented immigrants, holds under the U.S. Constitution when confronted by immigration enforcement. Here’s what you can find in this section:

Comprehensive Guides and Resources:

• Know Your Rights Information on ICE Raids by KIND: This document is a collection of Know Your Rights resources to help parents, community members and attorneys prepare for various immigration encounters and situations.
• ILRC’s Red Cards: These wallet cards are designed to help you assert your rights and decline to provide information to ICE officers without a lawyer present.
• AILA Know Your Rights Handouts: These handouts provide specific steps to take if ICE visits a home, employer or public space.
• ILRC’s Step-by-Step Family Preparedness Guide: This guide helps you make a plan with your family, in case of an immigration emergency. 

Specific Situations Explained:

• If ICE Stops You in Public: Learn to exercise your right to remain silent, refuse a search when not detained and know how to interact with officers without escalating the situation​. (Español)
• If ICE Visits Your Home: Understand your rights regarding not opening your door unless ICE has a valid search warrant signed by a judge, and how to handle encounters at your doorstep​. (Español)
• If ICE Comes to Your Workplace: Know your rights concerning ICE entering non-public areas of your workplace and how to conduct yourself if approached or questioned by immigration officers​. (Español)
• If ICE Detains a Loved One: Quickly document details such as time and location of the detention, seek immediate legal assistance and reach out to community groups for support.

Rights Reminder:

During any law enforcement encounter, remember:

1. You have the right to remain silent.
2. Do not open the door without seeing a valid, signed  warrant.
3. Ask for a lawyer before signing anything.

Each resource here is tailored so you can assert your rights effectively and safely. Remember, being prepared and informed can make a significant difference in navigating encounters with immigration enforcement.

As ICE and Border Patrol enforcement activities increase across our communities, especially in the Central Valley, the need for comprehensive legal support has become increasingly critical. This section aims to arm you and your loved ones with the legal resources necessary to navigate these turbulent times effectively. Here’s what you can find:

Legal Assistance Links:

• To find out if you might be eligible for immigration benefits or relief, consult with a reputable immigration lawyer. Visit AILA Lawyer Search, Guías Para Inmigrantes or CVIIC’s Guides for Immigrants to connect with a lawyer in your area.

Guides and Memos for Legal Aid:

• This ILRC guide provides advice on what immigrant families can do now. Find it in Spanish here and in Chinese, Korean, Arabic, Tagalog and Vietnamese here.
• KIND Memo to Pro Bono Attorneys on Case Preparation for Enforcement Activities: This comprehensive guide equips volunteer attorneys with the knowledge to assist effectively in ICE-related cases.

Community-Based Legal Support:

• ILRC’s Immigration Preparedness Toolkit helps you navigate the future. (Español)

Each resource listed here contributes to a collective effort to ensure that you have access to legal support and information to protect your rights and those of people around you. Staying informed and prepared is the first step toward safeguarding our communities against unjust and unforeseen actions.

Reporting ICE activities promptly and accurately is vital to our efforts in protecting our community members. This section provides detailed information on how to effectively report sightings and incidents involving ICE, ensuring that everyone is prepared to respond appropriately. Here’s what you can find in this section:

Immediate Actions and Resources:

• Reporting Line: If you witness or experience an ICE check-in, raid or any threatening actions toward immigrants or underrepresented community members, please call 559-206-0151. Be ready to provide precise details such as location, description of the event and, if safe, a picture or video.
• Text Alerts for ICE Sightings: Updates on how to receive immediate alerts about ICE activities in your area coming soon. 

How to Report Effectively:

• Gather Critical Information: Collect as much information as possible, including the exact location, description of what is happening and any visible identification of ICE agents.
• Detailed Reporting Form: Use our Community Detainee Reporting Form to document any ICE activities, providing critical details like the date, location and detainee information to facilitate timely support. 

Resources for Reporting and Follow-Up:

• Legal and Community Support: Connect to trusted resources and accredited services through the Central Valley Immigrant Integration Collaborative (CVIIC) and ValleCentral.org.
• Emergency and Non-Emergency Protocols: Understand when and how to report urgent sightings and other incidents, distinguishing between situations that require immediate rapid response and those that need legal or social support.

This section is designed to empower our community with the knowledge and tools needed to observe, report and respond to ICE activities safely and effectively. By staying informed and prepared, we can better protect our neighbors and stand together in solidarity against actions that threaten our communities.

In these challenging times, our community’s unity and readiness to support one another is more critical than ever. The recent threats and changes in enforcement tactics by ICE and Border Patrol underscore the need for preparedness and collective action. This section provides resources and suggestions on how communities, especially congregations, as well as individuals and partners, can offer support and solidarity to families facing the threat of detention, deportation, racial violence or hate crimes. Here’s what you can find in this section:

Engagement and Training Opportunities:

• Host a Rapid Response Volunteer Training: Organize training sessions at your congregation or group to prepare volunteers to handle ICE raids and other encounters effectively and compassionately. This can range from logistical support like transportation to more involved roles like legal observation. Contact [email protected] or [email protected] for more information.
• Valley Watch Network Hotline: Encourage your community to use and share the hotline number (559-206-0151) to report ICE activities or any threatening actions toward immigrants or minorities and connect with immediate support. This hotline is crucial for timely interventions and is run by dedicated volunteers.

Educational Resources and Events:

• Distribute Know Your Rights Materials: After services, or in the community, distribute red cards and printable Know Your Rights materials available in English and Spanish. For materials in other languages, click here. If there’s significant interest, consider organizing a dedicated “Know Your Rights” event to deepen community understanding and readiness.
• Link to CVIIC Immigration Services Directory: Provides access to a comprehensive directory of legal and support services for immigrants which can be found here.

Creating Safe Spaces and Accompaniment:

• Serve as a Sanctuary: Explore how your congregation might serve as a safe space or sanctuary for families. This could range from being a temporary refuge for families that have been separated to longer-term support, such as hosting families released from detention.
• Assess the family or individual’s needs after any type of attack, threat, detention or deportation and link the family to legal services, financial resources, pastoral care, meals, rides or other resources. 

Legal Observation

• Provide in-person support at ICE check-ins, court hearings, and other encounters.
• Rapidly arrive during a raid or emergency to witness, document, pray and denounce all injustice.
• Show up for those impacted by racial violence, hate crimes, or other threats.
• Contact Faith in the Valley staff to review Legal Observer guidelines and learn how to monitor a situation peacefully.

General Guidelines for Support:

• Avoid Posting Information on Social Media: To protect the privacy and safety of immigrant families, refrain from sharing any specific details such as names, photos showing identifiable faces, or documentation on social media platforms. 
• Focus on Documenting Law Enforcement: Document law enforcement actions carefully and professionally without infringing on the privacy of the individuals involved.

This section is designed to empower our community with the knowledge and tools necessary to protect and support each other. By standing together and well-prepared, we can make a significant difference in the lives of those who are most vulnerable to enforcement actions. Let’s strengthen our resolve to act with prophetic faith and power—not panic—in the face of challenges.

There are numerous ways that you can fight back against harmful rhetoric and policies that attempt to divide us and that justify using our public resources, biased policing practices and other conduct against immigrants and people of color. No one who has lived here for years—working hard, feeding our nation, raising families and contributing to our communities—should face the threat of detention, deportation or other harmful actions. Together, we can advance true community safety, security and inclusion.

Engage With PICO California

• PICO California Know Your Rights Toolkit: What can our cities and towns do to protect families in 2025? Take a look at the recommendations from PICO California and join us in our advocacy. As part of the PICO California network, we are putting our faith into action with congregations, faith leaders and community members across the state to advocate for immigration protections and restorative justice policies and to build inclusive communities.
• Faith in the Valley Blog: Learn more about the power of community organizing on Faith in the Valley’s blog and 2024 Year in Review.

Take Action Locally

• Contact Faith in the Valley’s organizing team to learn more about how you can get involved in these efforts in your local community.