Rapid Response & Warrants 101
Protect Patients in Case of ICE Raid
To establish effective policies and procedures for an ICE visit, consider developing/using the following for your institution:
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Algorithm: A quick-reference guide to post in clinical areas.
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Summary Document: A concise overview for easy access (see Blue Cards below).
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Detailed Procedures: Comprehensive instructions with rationale.
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FAQ Document: Answers for staff, integrating content from the algorithm and detailed procedures.
Key Components for Policies Supporting Patients:
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The facility will provide care to all patients, regardless of citizenship or immigration status.
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Providers will ask about or document country of origin/documentation status only if clinically relevant.
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Patient presence in the clinic and medical records will not be shared with law enforcement without proper warrants.
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ICE encounters on institutional property should follow a structured response, similar to a medical emergency (e.g., code blue), with clearly assigned tasks and roles.
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Define what areas are considered private/non-public property.
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Staff are prohibited from allowing ICE officers to enter/search without proper authorization.
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Provide a contact plan for on- and off-duty hours.
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Train providers and staff in handling “Code Colds” (ICE-related emergencies).
Below is a sample protocol to follow if ICE or other law enforcement come to your health care institution. Key points:
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Protect your most vulnerable patients and remember your right to remain silent.
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Refer all questions to your organization's designated representative (ideally someone well-versed in the law, such as Risk Management).
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Each health center should develop their own protocol. You can print, customize and post "Blue Cards" in clinical spaces to remind everyone of what to do in case ICE or law enforcement shows up.
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By practicing this protocol consistently - in the same way you might practice a code for an active threat - you will know what to do if and when law enforcement presents at your health center.
Sample Protocol to Respond to ICE in Clinic
Step 1: Protect Patients
- Call for assistance from other employees
- Immediately move as many patients as possible, starting with the most vulnerable into clinic/hospital areas designated as "private."
- This is usually behind a desk or in a room, inside the hospital gated area.
- Assign clinic employees to stay with families and patients.
- Remind patients of their right to remain silent.
- As much as possible, keep patients and families calm.
-Ensure all protected health information is secured and not visible to someone walking by
Recognizing Federal Agents
- May be uniformed or in plain clothes. May wear uniforms that resemble those worn by local law enforcement and say "police".
- May ask for a specific person or group OR may be doing a general sweep of a public area
- May be waiting outside a clinic or designated private area (this is legal)
Step 2: Activate Institutional Rapid Response
If your workplace has a Rapid Response Protocol in place, immediately activate it. Best practice is to assign a manager or supervisor to deal with ICE. If ICE arrives, train staff to say "I am not authorized to talk to you. I am calling my supervisor"
What to Tell The
Rapid Response Network
- Identify yourself, your role, & where you are calling from
- What time the incident started
- Who was involved
- Details of the event
- Outcome of event (if over)
- Contact Information
Step 4: Review the Warrant
- You do not have to talk with law enforcement or comply with requests if they do not have a valid court order.
- Check the type of warrant - if it's administrative, you do not have to do anything.
- Check the scope of the warrant and object if an officer attempts to go beyond the scope of the warrant.
- Check that the warrant:
--> is a valid judicial warrant
--> is signed by a judge or magistrate judge
--> states the address of the premises to be searched
--> is being executed during the time period specified on the warrant, if any.
Step 5: Document Everything
Ask non-vulnerable individuals to record encounter using their phone
- Assign one clinic employee to document the encounter
- Note officers' insignia, badge number, and name if possible
- You have a right to take photos and videos of police and other government actors doing their job in public and in plain sight
- To record the encounter on your phone. State: "I am filming this encounter". Do not interfere.
- To film an encounter, you could:
-Record the encounter on your phone and then upload it to the cloud. The recording can be used by the person impacted and may be useful to Rapid Reponse Actions. Respect the privacy of the person/people impacted as you consider who you share the recording with.
-The ACLU recommends recording the event, not livestreaming
-For iPhone 12 and above: A developer in Arizona created a shortcut called Police that anyone can download. Say “Hey Siri, I’m getting pulled over”. The iPhone will turn down any music, dim your phone’s screen, and begins recording the interaction.
-Here are some best practices for recording an encounter with ICE/Police from the ACLU
- Legally, police aren’t allowed to order you to stop taking photos or videos of them, or demand that you delete your photos or videos of them, while they’re doing their job in public.
- Typically, police aren’t allowed to confiscate or demand to see your photos or videos without a warrant. They also aren’t allowed to search the contents of your cell phone (including your texts, call history, etc.) without a warrant.
-If you are unable to record, take detailed notes
Step 6: Debrief
- How the Raid/Encounter started
- Result of the Encounter
- Describe your interactions with ICE & the legal & advocacy representatives you contacted
- How you recorded the Raid/Encounter
- Review the information in this toolkit as a refresher training
- Discuss how to notify others of the Raid/Encounter and how to best prepare for the next one
Click here for Scenarios.
Rapid Response Resources
Sample ICE Response Policies & Procedures
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San Francisco Department of Public Health
Quick Reference Policies & Procedures for Encounters with ICE (starts on page 5 of document)
ICE Raid Response Networks & Materials
Toolkit: Defense Against ICE Raid & Community Arrests
Critical information & analysis of our country’s massive detention and deportation system, as well as straightforward guidance on how to prepare for the ICE raids & advocate for our communities.
San Francisco Immigrant & Legal Education Network (SFILEN)
Rapid Response Network Information
What happens when you call the SFILEN Rapid Response Network & what information will they request.
Alameda County Immigration Legal and Education Partnership (ACILEP)
Collaborative effort to provide critical legal, educational, and emergency support to our undocumented community.
Warrants 101
There are 2 types of warrants and they differ in what they compel us to do:
Administrative/ICE Warrants or Detainers
Form issued by certain immigration officers that directs federal agents to arrest an allegedly deportable non-citizen. Because it is not reviewed by a judge or any neutral party to determine if it is based on probable cause, an administrative warrant does not have the same authority as a judicial warrant.
It does not: allow arrests solely on its basis, require someone to answer questions, authorize a search or authorize entry without consent.
Federal/Judicial Warrants
This is a written order signed by a court that validates any search, seizure, or arrest by local law enforcement, and must always be accompanied by a sworn statement made by an officer under oath that probable cause exists.
A judicial warrant must be followed.
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