Immigrants Know Your Rights Tools
Immigrants Know Your Rights Tools
Law enforcement, immigration (“I.C.E”), and government officials are required by law to provide people with disabilities reasonable accommodations. This Know Your Accommodations Rights card was created to help people with disabilities exercise these rights. The card is designed to help to communicate that you have a disability and need an accommodation.
Purpose
Law enforcement, immigration (“I.C.E”), and government officials are required by law to provide people with disabilities reasonable accommodations. This Know Your Accommodations Rights card was created to help people with disabilities exercise these rights. The card is designed to help to communicate that you have a disability and need an accommodation. The accommodation(s) could be for the purpose of interacting, engaging, speaking, communicating, understanding, hearing, seeing, reading, and/or following instructions, in the event they are stopped, questioned, detained, and/or arrested by the police, immigration, or any state or federal government official conducting an investigation. The purpose of this card is to know your rights and inform police, immigration, or government officials that they must provide you with an accommodation if they want to interact with you.
This card can be used with other Know Your Rights Card. These cards do not provide legal advice.
Instructions
This card is available in many different sizes. You should print and cut out whatever size of this card you need. The front of the card says, “I have rights as a person with a disability.” The back side of the card is where you can write out the accommodation or accommodations you require. You can also write the language that you speak aside from English. For example, if you require an accommodation of needing an American Sign Language interpreter, you can write your accommodation as “American Sign Language Interpreter”. Please write or have someone else write out the accommodation(s) you require in the English language. Carry this card with you or near you. If you require an aide, you can have your aide carry this card on your behalf.
How to Use the Card
If you are stopped by police or immigration officer, you can immediately present this card to inform the police or immigration officer that you need an accommodation.
How to Fill Out this Card
Consider both accommodations you need to interact with a member of law enforcement/immigration and accommodations you would need if detained.
Examples of Accommodations
- Speaking in a calm, quiet way;
- Speaking slowly, clearly, and visibly for speech- or lip-reading;
- Providing devices and interpretation services to properly communicate;
- Allowing someone to stim to process anxiety, instead of assuming that stimming means they did something bad;
- Using simple commands, instead of complex sentences;
- Allowing a person enough time to process and understand the officers’ orders;
- Asking a person with mobility needs about the best way to move them, and being careful not to break their mobility device;
- Reading documents or written instructions out loud for a person with a visual impairment;
- Stepping back to create space to have a full view of the body;
- Providing a qualified sign language interpreter.
- Access to medication if detained
- Access to a wheelchair or other medical equipment if detained
- Not handcuffing someone who needs their hands to communicate, such as in sign language
- Access to an Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) device (specify if you have a personal device that you need for this purpose)
- Adjusting handcuffs or other restraints if they cause pain due to a chronic illness or disability
