What immigrants need to know: Protecting your rights in the US

Immigrants in the US — documented and undocumented — are becoming increasingly concerned about their rights and responsibilities in various aspects of daily life.

Here are key tips to help protect your fundamental legal rights as you navigate the current climate and beyond.

When you are entering the US by whatever port of entry (land, air or sea) you will encounter border officers who process your documents and send you on your way. However. they can ask for a search of your electronic devices. They can do this for US citizens, green card holders, holders of visitors and other visa types.

The search can be a basic search where they literally only scroll through random aspects of your device’s footprint. A more advanced search could see them attaching another device to yours to copy the content of your device, access any deleted data etc. This latter type of search requires some type of suspicion on their part to be lawful. However, a lot of unlawful events have taken place as persons traverse.

So, this idea of a search brings to the fore issues such as your privacy. Most persons have financial data, personal identification details, secret information and also generic and general information on the devices that they own. These can become exposed to these searches if you have them and consent to them being searched.

Even if you do not consent to your devices being searched they can be confiscated. It might make sense to consider if you want to have back up devices or not have devices as you travel. The latter is almost impossible so perhaps you need to consider if you want to have separate devices with your data that you would not want shared.

The majority of travellers are law abiding citizens and its doubtful you would have illegal activity on your devices, but sometimes comments and statements and even social media posts can be misconstrued and taken out of context. So be careful.

Increasingly, visa applicants are being asked for their social media information and that means such information is being checked and scrutinised.

If you are asked to give access to your devices at a port of entry as a US citizen the consequences of refusal are different than for others. As a US citizen you cannot be prevented from entering the country, however, you may be subjected to delays and questioning.

For lawful permanent residents, you will be required to go to secondary inspection where you will be subjected to delays, intense questioning and possibly even threats. However, if you do not wish to grant access, you should not allow yourself to be intimidated to do so. The most likely threat is that your green card will be revoked. A green card can only be revoked by an Immigration Judge so push back by demanding to be put before an Immigration Judge. Do not sign anything electronically or with a pen as you are in a high stress situation and can easily sign documents that actually say you have voluntarily relinquished your green card.

Other visa holders do not have the leverage of the US citizen or green card holder and can therefore be denied entry into the country for such refusal.

Whatever your status, for your own security, should you consent to a search, ensure that you get the name and any other information about the searching officer, such as a badge number and if the person is a supervisor for example. Ask for a reason as to why they want to access your devices. Write down the answers. Write down any questions you were asked as soon as possible. Ask if the interaction is being recorded and if the answer is yes, ask for a copy of the interaction. Most can provide a paper transcript in real time

Again, do not sign anything electronically or otherwise as you can immediately sign away your rights.

It is your right to maintain your silence after you have given your identification details, such as name and address and purpose of visit and make sure that you do not lie.

As it relates to activities such as picketing or protesting, you must measure the possibilities, things can escalate and you can be charged for obstructing traffic, blocking thoroughfares etc. So be careful.

The US government is becoming more insistent that persons who are not citizens have identification regarding their status on their person. For green card holders that has always been the case, but it was not something that many persons did, now you might want to at least have a copy with you.

A programme requiring persons to register if they have been in the US for more than 30 days is also being rolled out. It does not affect green card holders and persons who would have been fingerprinted, for example, at a border entry. The general idea is that it is designed to capture those who are in the country without or beyond their lawful periods.

Finally, of note to immigrant communities is the fact that at least one state has a Bill to prevent children who are undocumented from attending public schools or at least require that they show proof of lawful status. The law currently says all children, regardless of their status can attend school as that is in the public good. There are several other efforts underway that immigrant communities must be aware of, so it is important to get good sources of information.

This article is intended for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice.

 By Nadine C. Atkinson-Flowers ©