Know Your Rights

What to do if ICE COMES TO YOUR DOOR

    DO NOT OPEN DOORS

    ICE cannot come in without a signed warrant by a crimal court judge. They can only come in if you let them.

    REMAIN SILENT

    ICE can use anthing you say against you in your immigration case so claim your rights to remain silent!

    DO NOT SIGN

    Don't sign anything ICE gives you without talking to an attorney

    REPORT & RECORD

    Report Immediately: DIRE Hotline - (888) DIRE-SOS.
    Take pictures & video unless you're on federal government property. Take notes of badge numbers, number of agents, time, type of car and exactly what happened.

    FIGHT BACK

    Get a trustworthy attorney & explore all options to fight your case. If detained, you may be able to get bail - don't give up hope! Join your local team to defend yourself from enforcement!

Court Monitoring

Currently we are monitoring two courthouses. At either courthouse we are monitoring if ICE is lurking around, handing out flyers about DIRE and letting the community know we are available.

North Brunswick Municipal Court

Middlesex County Court

WHAT TO DO IF ICE COMES TO THE COURTHOUSE

  1. Take video and/or pictures of cars, agents and anything useful.
  2. Note any unusual tactics or force used in the arrest.
  3. Try to determine if they are targeting one individual and warn others in the area that ICE is present and taking people.
  4. Call the DIRE line for more resources! (888) DIRE-SOS - (888) 347-3767

E-mail List

About

DIRE was born on January 29th, 2017. On January 25th President Donald Trump passed an executive order called "Protecting the Security of the Interior." That executive order called for strict enforcement of immigration laws against people who, for many years, have not been considered deportation priorities. With his stated goal of deporting 2-3 million people, and his executive order, it became clear to the people of our community that in order to reach that goal the President would start breaking up families and communities.

On January 29th 450 people gathered for a spontaneous prayer vigil to draw attention to this concern. Out of that meeting a group of concerned citizens was formed, and by February 23rd we held our first official meeting of DIRE. D.I.R.E. is a proactive community Deportation & Immigration Response team dedicated to ensuring the human rights and well-being of non-citizen individuals and families in which there are U.S. citizen children living with non-citizen parents.

D.I.R.E. stands as a witness to the fact that this nation’s most vulnerable immigrants fled their countries out of extreme desperation. The sacrifices they made humble those of us who were privileged to be born in the United States. Many undocumented people will never reunite with parents and children they left behind. We acknowledge that the trade policies of the United States, including NAFTA and CAFTA, contributed to intolerable poverty and the steady rise of undocumented immigrants, from 3.1 million in 1990 to 11 million in 2017.

The United States Declaration of Independence makes it clear that human rights are bestowed by God and cannot be obliterated by any government. They include those inalienable safeguards and protections that the U.S. Constitution guarantees to all people, regardless of citizenship: 

  • Freedom from unreasonable search and seizure (4th Amendment)
  • Right to due process of law (5th Amendment)
  • Freedom from cruel and unusual punishment (8th Amendment)

D.I.R.E. declares detention/deportation to be a cruel and excessive response to infractions of the nation’s broken immigration code which fails to provide a path to legal status for thousands of individuals who are hard-working, tax-paying assets to the community. Detention and deportation of non-criminal immigrants violates the rights of U.S. citizen children to be raised by their parents; does not allow undocumented immigrants the opportunity to remedy the infringements enacted by their parents; and forcibly removes people from their family, work and faith communities without due process.

D.I.R.E. commits to taking action, as needed, to ensure the human rights of all members of the immigrant community by:

  1. Distributing information about immigrant rights and what actions to take in the event that ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) or other law enforcement officials attempt to interrogate or detain them
  2. Responding in real time, as possible, to locations in which an ICE/police detainment, or attempted action, is taking place;
  3. Providing physical sanctuary in a space of safety and faith when the government, in violation of the United States Constitution’s Bill of Rights and, shows blatant disregard for human rights. Accompanying individuals who have appointments with ICE, to ensure that each individual receives due process, respect and proper treatment.