If Immigration and Naturalization (ICE) show up at your door, do you know what to do? Do you know what your rights are? Most people don’t, especially in the current climate of fear, which is why NJ the May 1 Coalition and the New Jersey Civil Rights Defense Committee have launched a 24-hour free number (1-800-308-0878) covering New York and New Jersey that will provide immediate, contact with Spanish-speaking volunteers in the event of a raid.

“Most of the ICE raids on homes and workplace are fishing expeditions—ICE does not know who has documents and who does not,” explains Eric Lerner, a member of the NJ May 1 Coalition. “Immigrants are detained and deported mainly as a result of information that they are frightened into providing the agents. If immigrants call the hotline as soon as they hear that knock on the door, the volunteers will explain to them their rights so that they don’t inadvertently give out information that leads to detention.” Experience with Rapid Response Networks in other cities has shown that even immigrants who are aware of their rights can panic when confronted with armed ICE agents and forget those rights. The hotline provides a reassuring, knowledgeable individual who can remind the caller of their rights and encourage them to use them.

Two things should be noted: This number is not intended for nationwide use and this number should NOT be used for routine immigration inquiries. It is meant to be called in emergencies only: DURING an ICE raid or upon contact with ICE officers. This is a crucial time during which detention can potentially be avoided or negative legal consequences mitigated.

The second phase of the project which will be rolled out soon, is involves setting up Rapid Response Teams in every locality to respond to the raids. These teams would be sent by the phone volunteers to the site of an ongoing raid and will act as witnesses, recording the actions of the ICE agents. Experience in cities such as Los Angles with these teams has shown that their presence can deter ICE agents from violating immigrants’ rights, such as by breaking down doors. In addition, in some cases, the presence of witnesses, alerting the community to an ICE raid, causes a crowd of neighbors to gather, protesting the raid, often leading ICE agents to leave the area.

If you’re interested in volunteering or more information contact nfo@njmay1.org or 973-736-0522. Posters and other materials are available at www.njmay1.org.