Red cards: how migrants can defend themselves against ICE's aggressive practices

Rampant ICE detentions

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As US President Donald Trump has ramped up his unprecedented effort to deport immigrants around the country, officers from the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency are arresting people at their houses, in public places, wearing masks, and even taking people in unmarked vehicles.

Know-your-rights cards

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In response to these aggressive practices, little red cards, also known as ‘know-your-rights’ cards, have been handed out to fearful immigrants by human rights NGOs.

Regardless of your immigration status

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Available in 19 languages, the cards remind their holders that regardless of their immigration status, they have rights and protections outlined in the US Constitution.

What do the cards say?

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The cards list some of the most relevant rights for undocumented immigrants, such as the right to remain silent under the Fifth Amendment or the right to not open the door of your home to an agent if they don’t have a warrant signed by a judge, as specified in the Fourth Amendment.

The right to speak to a lawyer

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They also remind immigrants that they have the right to speak to a lawyer and remind them not to say or sign anything without speaking to one.

Ask authorities if you’re free to leave

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“If you are outside your home, ask the officer if you are free to leave, and if they say yes, leave calmly,” the card reads.

Give the card to the officers

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So as not to talk to the officers, the card advises its holders to be shown to them under the door or through a window.

Translated into 19 languages

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One side of the card contains information in English, and the other contains a translation into one of 19 languages, from Spanish and Portuguese, to Arabic, Creole, Russian, and Ukrainian, to Vietnamese and Chinese, the BBC reports.

The cards have been circulating for almost 20 years

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The cards were first developed by the Immigrant Legal Resource Center (ILRC) and, although they have been in circulation for nearly twenty years, since Trump became president, there’s been an “unprecedented demand” for them, the center reports on their website.

Millions of requests

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The organization reports it has received millions of requests for their red cards since election day, “more than the total for the previous 17 years," they say.

The distribution of red cards

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The ILRC distributes the cards directly to other entities, which in turn distribute them to schools, churches, clinics, or food banks, and to lawyers who work with migrants and asylum seekers.

Anyone can download the cards from the ILRC website

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It also offers the possibility of downloading the design through its website, so that whoever wants them can print them and assemble them themselves.

Photo: Mahrous Houses/Unsplash

Beware of opportunists

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From their website, they warn people that there’s been some oportunists who are trying to sell the cards to people. They remind them that they are free and accesible to all.

Cost of printing and shipping the cards

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“The only form in which the ILRC offers paid orders, via RedCardOrders.com, is for sustainability in offsetting the cost of printing/ shipping for those with the means to cover the expense,” their webpage reads.

Organizations and people are distributing thousands

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Moreover, they remind people that the printing orders are mainly meant for organizations seeking to print hundreds or thousands to distribute them, as many are doing, as well as citizens wanting to help their communities, according to a BBC report.

The card can help people from being deported

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For many undocumented immigrants living in the US, asserting the rights under the red card could mean the difference between staying in the country or being deported, according to activists and lawyers.

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