If ICE Takes Someone You Know A lot of people have asked me what they can actually do if someone they know is taken by ICE. Here are the resources we found most useful, and the things I would do first. 1. Find them. ICE has an online detainee locator. You can search using the person's A-number (immigration #) and country of birth, or their exact first and last name and country of birth. locator.ice.gov Note that someone may not appear immediately after being taken. The system also doesn’t contain everyone in ICE custody. If you can't find them, keep checking and contact the appropriate ICE field office. ICE's Detention Reporting and Information Line is 1-888-351-4024. 2. Find a good immigration lawyer. This is the most important thing you can do. People taken by ICE have the right to an attorney, but unlike in a criminal case, the government generally doesn’t have to provide one. The National Immigration Legal Services Directory lets you search for nonprofit organizations offering free or low-cost immigration legal help by state, county, ZIP code, or even detention facility. immigrationadvocates.or… The ACLU also has a good overview of the rights of someone who has been detained. 3. Get their A-number. This is the immigration identification number used to track a person's case. It’s generally nine digits. If an older A-number has only eight, government systems usually require a zero at the beginning. This makes everything easier - finding someone, checking their immigration court case, and communicating with lawyers. If you don't have it, ask the person's family or lawyer. It may also appear on previous immigration documents. 4. Find out what's happening with their case. The Justice Department has an online system where you can enter an A-number and check basic immigration court information, including upcoming hearings and certain decisions. You can also call the automated immigration court hotline at 1-800-898-7180. Keep in mind: the online system doesn’t contain everything. It doesn’t include bond proceedings or motions. Official court notices are the best source. 5. Start gathering documents. Friends and family can help collect information that may be useful to the lawyer: evidence of family ties, employment, a business, home ownership, community involvement, and letters from people who know the person. Our neighborhood wrote a lot of letters. Give everything to the lawyer. Let the lawyer decide what matters for the particular case. 6. Ask the lawyer about bond or other possible release. Don't assume that detention automatically means someone has to stay locked up while the case proceeds. But don't assume bond is available either. Whether you’re eligible depends on the person's situation, immigration history, and the legal authority under which they are being detained. This is one of the first questions to ask the lawyer. If money may be needed, friends can start organizing so that it is available quickly. The bond for our gardener was not high - only $4,000. 7. Help the family. This one sounds obvious but it matters. Someone suddenly has to deal with lawyers, detention calls, court dates, childcare, lost income, bills, transportation, and the terror of not knowing what’s going to happen. Bring food. Drive someone somewhere. Help make calls. Set up a fundraiser if they need one. Take something off their plate. 8. Know what the detained person should do. The ACLU's advice is simple if you are taken: stay silent, ask for a lawyer, and don't sign anything or make decisions about the immigration case without speaking with a lawyer. And finally: Don't assume there’s nothing you can do. That's what I would have assumed before this happened, but it isn't true. There are phone calls to make. Lawyers to find. Documents to gather. Money to raise. Families to help. Just start. That’s what Betty did in our neighborhood. Be a Betty.