Know Your Rights.Protect Human Dignity. Demand Accountability.
Immigration status does not erase a person’s humanity or every constitutional protection. This page provides practical information for encounters with immigration enforcement, family preparedness, detention resources, legal-help pathways, and public accountability.
It also tracks two fatal ICE shootings that occurred six days apart in Houston, Texas, and Biddeford, Maine—cases that have intensified demands for independent investigations, evidence preservation, body cameras, and transparency.
Active Topic • Updated July 17, 2026Use This Page To
- Understand basic rights during an ICE encounter
- Recognize judicial and administrative warrants
- Prepare children, caregivers, documents, and emergency contacts
- Locate a person in immigration detention
- Check immigration-court information
- Find authorized immigration legal help
- Report misconduct and request investigation
- Follow developing ICE accountability cases
Immigration enforcement must never operate beyond accountability.
Every person—citizen or noncitizen—deserves dignity. Government authority must be exercised lawfully, accurately, transparently, and with restraint.
Immigration enforcement may involve complex civil and criminal laws, but no enforcement mission excuses unnecessary force, mistaken identity, hidden evidence, denial of due process, or the silencing of families and witnesses.
Raise Your Voice supports informed action: know the law, preserve verified facts, protect families, contact the offices with authority, and demand independent review when government action causes harm.
Core Principles
- Human rights do not depend on political popularity.
- Constitutional protections extend beyond citizenship.
- Due process matters in every enforcement system.
- Official accounts must be tested against evidence.
- Deadly force demands independent scrutiny.
- Families deserve timely and truthful information.
- Public safety includes immigrant communities.
Two fatal shootings. Six days apart. Neither man was the reported target.
The circumstances remain under investigation and key accounts are disputed. RYV will distinguish confirmed facts, official claims, witness accounts, allegations, and later investigative findings.
Lorenzo Salgado Araujo
Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, 52, was fatally shot by an ICE officer during an enforcement operation.
- Federal officials said agents were looking for two other men and mistook his work van for the vehicle they sought.
- DHS acknowledged that Salgado Araujo was not the intended target.
- DHS initially alleged that his van rammed an ICE vehicle; a later federal account did not mention that collision.
- Witnesses have disputed key portions of the government’s description.
- Federal agents at the scene were not equipped with body cameras.
- The Harris County District Attorney opened an independent local investigation.
Johan Sebastián Durán Guerrero
Johan Sebastián Durán Guerrero was fatally shot by an ICE officer during a vehicle encounter connected to an enforcement operation.
- Reporting and public officials later said he was not the person originally sought in the operation.
- DHS said the officer believed a moving vehicle posed a danger.
- The account remains subject to investigation and demands for independent verification.
- The agents involved reportedly were not wearing body cameras.
- Maine officials and members of Congress have called for transparency and impartial review.
- Later reporting raised additional questions about ICE hiring, vetting, training, and oversight.
Video, radio traffic, vehicle evidence, forensic reports, witness statements, warrants, training records, personnel records, and independent investigative findings may materially change what is known.
What to remember during an immigration-enforcement encounter.
Rights can depend on the location and circumstances. Stay calm, do not physically resist, do not lie, and seek qualified legal counsel as soon as possible.
At Your Home
- Keep the door closed while asking who is there.
- Ask officers to identify their agency.
- Ask them to slide the warrant under the door or hold it to a window.
- Do not consent to entry without a valid judicial warrant unless a legal emergency exception applies.
- Do not open the door simply because a document says “warrant.”
In Public
- Ask, “Am I free to leave?”
- If the answer is yes, leave calmly.
- You may state that you choose to remain silent.
- Do not run, push, threaten, or physically resist.
- Do not provide false information or false documents.
In a Vehicle
- Pull over safely when lawfully directed.
- Keep your hands visible and avoid sudden movements.
- Ask which agency is stopping you and why.
- State clearly if you do not consent to a search.
- Do not physically interfere even when you believe the stop is unlawful.
At Work
- Public and nonpublic work areas may be treated differently.
- Employers should identify who may consent to entry into private areas.
- Workers may remain silent and request an attorney.
- Do not destroy documents or obstruct officers.
- Create a workplace response plan before enforcement occurs.
If Detained
- State, “I choose to remain silent.”
- Ask to speak with an immigration attorney.
- Do not sign anything you do not understand.
- Request an interpreter when needed.
- Ask to contact your consulate and a trusted family member.
Children, Schools & Healthcare
- Keep caregiver and school-pickup plans current.
- Limit unnecessary collection of immigration-status information.
- Protect private medical and student information under applicable law.
- Identify public and private spaces before an emergency.
- Ask counsel about current federal and local rules.
Judicial warrant versus ICE administrative warrant.
The word “warrant” alone does not tell you whether officers may enter a private home without consent.
Judicial Warrant
- Issued and signed by a judge or magistrate.
- Should identify the person, address, or authorized search area.
- Review the name, address, date, signature, and scope.
- Do not obstruct officers executing a valid warrant.
- You may still remain silent and request an attorney.
ICE Administrative Warrant
- Usually issued on a DHS or ICE form.
- Typically signed by an immigration official—not a judge.
- May authorize an immigration arrest but generally does not authorize forced entry into a private home.
- Do not consent to entry merely because it says “warrant.”
- Ask an attorney to review uncertain documents.
Ask officers to slide it under the door or hold it against a window. Check the signature, address, date, and scope.
Stay calm. Be clear. Do not physically resist.
These phrases may help communicate that you are exercising your rights without escalating the encounter.
Document safely without interfering.
Video, photographs, timestamps, names, locations, and contemporaneous notes may matter—but safety and lawful distance come first.
During the Encounter
- Remain at a safe distance and do not enter restricted areas.
- Do not touch officers, vehicles, weapons, or evidence.
- State that you are observing and not interfering.
- Record only from a place where you may lawfully be.
- Capture agency markings, vehicle plates, time, location, and commands when safe.
After the Encounter
- Preserve the original, unedited file.
- Back it up privately before posting publicly.
- Write down what you personally saw and heard.
- Separate firsthand observations from assumptions.
- Protect children, medical details, addresses, and private identities.
- Consult counsel before public release when legal risk is high.
Prepare before an emergency—not during one.
Immigration-related detention can separate parents, caregivers, workers, and loved ones without warning.
Trusted Contacts
Choose an attorney, emergency contact, caregiver, employer contact, and person authorized to retrieve records.
Children & Caregiving
Update school pickup lists, medical permissions, guardianship documents, routines, medications, and special needs.
Important Documents
Secure passports, birth certificates, immigration records, A-numbers, court notices, and attorney information.
Financial Access
Review lawful powers of attorney, bill access, bank information, leases, vehicles, and household obligations.
Medical Information
List medications, allergies, doctors, insurance, diagnoses, and consent information.
Communication Plan
Memorize key numbers and decide who will contact attorneys, schools, consulates, employers, and relatives.
Use official tools—and verify who is offering legal help.
Only licensed attorneys and properly accredited representatives may provide authorized immigration legal services. Avoid notario fraud and guaranteed-outcome promises.
Locate a Person in ICE Custody
Search ICE’s Online Detainee Locator using the person’s identifying information or A-number.
Open the Detainee LocatorCheck Immigration Court Information
Use EOIR’s case-status system. Court notices remain the official source of hearing information.
Check EOIR Case StatusEOIR Case Hotline
Automated immigration-court information may be available by phone. Have the A-number ready.
Call 1-800-898-7180Find an Immigration Attorney
Search the American Immigration Lawyers Association directory by location and practice area.
Find an AILA LawyerFind Nonprofit Legal Help
Search for nonprofit immigration legal-service organizations and verify authorization.
Search the Legal DirectoryVerify Accredited Help
Use the DOJ Recognition and Accreditation Program to verify recognized organizations and accredited representatives.
Verify Accredited HelpChoose the office with authority over the problem.
Preserve evidence and write down the date, time, recipient, and complaint or reference number.
Immediate Danger or Medical Emergency
Call 911 when someone is injured, threatened, missing, or in urgent medical danger. Clearly state the location and immediate risk.
DHS Inspector General
Report alleged fraud, waste, abuse, mismanagement, or criminal misconduct involving DHS programs or personnel.
Local & State Accountability
- Local police or sheriff for immediate scene response
- County or district attorney for possible criminal review
- State attorney general for civil-rights or state-law concerns
- Medical examiner or coroner for death-investigation records
- State legislators when oversight or legislation is needed
Federal Oversight
- Your U.S. representative
- Both U.S. senators from your state
- Relevant congressional oversight and judiciary committees
- DHS Office of Inspector General
- Department of Justice when federal review may apply
Request transparency without spreading unverified claims.
Customize this for a representative, prosecutor, attorney general, inspector general, or agency with jurisdiction.
Subject: Request for Independent Investigation and Public Accountability
Dear [Official’s Name],
I am writing to request a prompt, independent, and transparent investigation into [incident or case]. When government enforcement results in serious injury or death, the public deserves a review based on preserved evidence—not only the account of the agency involved.
Please use the authority of your office to seek preservation and lawful release of body-camera footage, surveillance video, vehicle evidence, dispatch records, radio communications, use-of-force reports, warrant information, personnel and training records, witness statements, forensic findings, and the identity of every investigating agency.
Please clarify whether the person harmed was the intended enforcement target, what de-escalation measures were attempted, which use-of-force policy applied, whether an independent prosecutor or investigative agency is involved, and when the public can expect verified findings.
Immigration status must never be used to avoid accountability. Human dignity, due process, public safety, and equal protection require transparency.
Sincerely,
[Your Name]
[City and State]
[Contact Information]
Enforcement without accountability is a danger to everyone.
These safeguards protect immigrants, citizens, officers, witnesses, and the integrity of investigations.
Independent Investigations
Fatal and serious-force incidents should not depend solely on the agency whose personnel used force.
Body Cameras
Deploy cameras with enforceable activation, preservation, disclosure, and discipline policies.
Evidence Preservation
Secure video, dispatch, vehicle, forensic, personnel, and witness evidence immediately.
Accurate Identification
Strengthen verification before stops, entries, arrests, and high-risk operations.
De-Escalation
Require tactics that reduce predictable vehicle, crowd, family, and bystander risks whenever feasible.
Public Findings
Release timely, evidence-based findings while protecting lawful privacy and active investigations.
Sources, Updates & Editorial Standard
This page reflects public information available through July 17, 2026. Developing details may change. RYV distinguishes verified facts, official claims, witness accounts, allegations, and conclusions reached by investigators or courts.
- Associated Press: Houston ICE shooting update
- Associated Press: Maine ICE shooting update
- ACLU: Immigrants’ Rights
- ICE Online Detainee Locator System
- DOJ EOIR: Check Case Status
- DHS Office of Inspector General Hotline
- DOJ Recognition and Accreditation Program
Legal notice: Raise Your Voice and Bridge & Beyond Inc. do not provide legal representation through this page. Immigration law and enforcement policies can change quickly and may vary by jurisdiction and circumstance. Consult a licensed immigration attorney or authorized DOJ-accredited representative regarding an individual case.
Know the Facts. Know Your Rights. Know Who to Call.
Human dignity does not disappear at the sight of a badge, a warrant, a detention center, or a border. Protect your family, preserve the truth, and raise your voice with knowledge and purpose.