⚖️ What ICE Can - and Can’t - Make You Do

This Week’s Immigration News Highlights

• Illegal Border Crossing Record Low, Under Trump

• $250 “Visa Integrity Fee” to Hit Travelers to U.S.

• ICE Bars Detainees from Getting Bonds Hearing

Know Your Rights at ICE Checkpoints: A Quick Guide

Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) may set up checkpoints or approach individuals in public spaces but that doesn’t mean you lose your rights. Understanding what you can say and when to stay silent can protect you or someone you care about.

📍 First, location matters. ICE does not have free rein everywhere. While they can operate in public areas (like highways, parks, or outside workplaces), they cannot enter your home without a signed warrant from a judge. If they knock, ask to see the warrant through a window or slid under the door. Don’t open it unless it's judicial and names a person inside.

💨 At checkpoints, stay calm and ask questions. ICE may ask your name or where you’re from, but you’re not obligated to answer. You do not have to reveal your immigration status, and you can say, “I choose to remain silent.” If you're a passenger, you can also ask, “Am I free to leave?” If they say yes, walk away calmly.

🪪 Don’t carry false documents or lie. While you have the right to remain silent, providing fake paperwork or false information can hurt you much more than silence ever could. If you’re a non-citizen, it’s helpful but not legally required to carry valid immigration documents. If asked for ID and you don’t want to answer, calmly decline and repeat that you’re asserting your right to remain silent.

📝 Document the interaction if possible. You can legally record ICE interactions as long as you don’t interfere. Note the time, place, names, and badge numbers if they’re visible. This can help an attorney challenge an unlawful stop or arrest later.

✅ Bottom line: You have rights. Use them. And if ICE detains you or someone you know, say you want to speak to a lawyer and do not sign anything without one present.

How to Volunteer at the Border (Without Getting in the Way)

The southern border has become a flashpoint of humanitarian need, but it’s also a complex and sensitive environment. Many well-meaning volunteers show up hoping to help but without a plan or understanding, good intentions can lead to chaos or even harm.

💻 Start with research. Before booking a flight to Texas or Arizona, ask: What are the current needs? Who’s already doing the work? Reputable organizations like Al Otro Lado, RAICES, and Border Angels often publish volunteer guidelines and application processes. Respect their system. It exists to protect both volunteers and migrants.

🌎 Understand what you bring and what you don’t. Fluency in Spanish, knowledge of immigration law, trauma-informed care, and even basic logistics (transport, sorting supplies) are valuable. But not everyone needs to be on the ground. Remote support like translation, fundraising, and organizing donation drives can be just as impactful.

🦸🏽‍♀️ Don’t assume you’re the hero. The communities at the border - both migrant and local - are not props for activism. Avoid performative behavior (like taking selfies with detained families or sharing footage without consent). If you're there to serve, listen first. If you’re corrected by organizers or community members, take it as a chance to grow.

😤 Be prepared for emotional intensity. Volunteers often witness families in crisis, legal gray zones, and heartbreaking delays. Have a plan for processing that trauma: peer support, journaling, therapy, or decompressing time. Burnout helps no one.

🤫 Leave your agenda at the door. The border is not the place to push personal politics or debate policy. You’re there to assist. Stay grounded in humility and service. And remember: long-term change often begins with short-term listening.

That’s it for this Week

Connect with me at my LinkedIn account and follow Notice to All’s X (previously Twitter) account!

Also, if you’d love my expertise as an immigration attorney, feel free to book a call with me.

If you’ve enjoyed our newsletter and found it helpful, please share Notice to All with a friend. It’ll means the world to us! 💛

Also, Edgar (my brother and editor) has just released tini.la. Share your links and grow your email list from day 1. Check out his page tini.la/edgar, you can have your own, too!

Finally, visit our Custom GPT Immigration Law Expert Shelly: an AI chatbot designed by The Notice to All Team. AI Shelly has all the answers to your immigration questions (not a replacement for professional consulting, though. AI isn’t that good). A Gemini Gem version is also available!

Whether you're standing up for your rights at a checkpoint or lending your time at the border, one rule stays true: Preparation is protection. When we equip ourselves with knowledge and humility, we turn fear into power and show up where it counts.

Until next time, enjoy these sunny vibes. ☀️

Real News for Real People — Not Partisans

Feeling like you want to get off the rollercoaster of polarizing politics? Read Tangle — an independent and nonpartisan political newsletter recently profiled on This American Life for helping to bridge the gap between politically divided families. Each day, the newsletter unpacks one important news story, examining it from all sides of the political spectrum.

Read it for free.