If you were detained by ICE, who would take care of your children and people that depend on you, in an emergency or for a longer time?
First, think about your own risks.
Sometimes an individual placed in custody may be detained for a few days to several months but is ultimately released with the ability to fight their case.
Individuals with a criminal record, previous deportation, or those falling within ICE’s removal priorities, may face deportation.
What would your dependents need in these situations? Who would best care for your dependents in these situations?
Next, choose one or more "trusted helpers" that you or your dependents can call for help, in case of an ICE raid. Share the following information with them as soon as you can, so that they will already have all the information if an ICE raid happens. (During a raid, it may be impossible to talk to your trusted helper or to share important information with them.)
The information you could share with the trusted helper are:
For each of your children or adult dependents:
Identification: Full name, date of birth, social security or A-numbers
Medical information: list of conditions and allergies, prescriptions for medicine, pharmacy information, doctor information, insurance information
Places this person spends time (in case the trusted helper needs to find them): school location, extracurricular activities, work locations
Other instructions
For each pet:
Food and medical information
Other instructions
You can start a legal process called standby guardianship (resources) in case you are detained. This temporarily gives your "trusted helper" more power to make decisions for your dependent. Most importantly, standby guardianship allows your "trusted helper" to work directly with schools and doctors to make decisions for your dependent. If you are detained for more than a day or two, these powers may become necessary for your "trusted helper" to do the best job caring for your dependents.
Here's how it works:
You must set up standby guardianship in advance! This isn't something that your "trusted helper" or a child (under the age of 18) can do on their own after you are detained. (This rule protects your legal rights as a parent.)
We recommend that you contact COSPU (see contact information on the First things first page) for trusted help in setting up your Guardianship. There are several types of guardianship, so you should talk to COSPU about which type makes sense for you.
We recommend assigning guardians who live in Virginia. Other states may have a similar process, but some details can be different and you may have to sign different guardianship forms. Discuss with an attorney if this is something you need.
Finally, share information with your dependents so they know how to contact the trusted helpers:
Make a wallet card for each dependent with the name of the trusted helper and their phone number or address. You can also add extra phone numbers of people close to the trusted helper, so it is faster to get in contact.
Make a safe alternate meeting place that your family and trusted helpers know about, in case you can't meet at home because ICE is there.