Center for Immigrant Progress explains detainee rights, locating tools and voluntary-return options

Jael Mejia, with the Center for Immigrant Progress, told attendees during a presentation to Waukegan CUSD 60 that people who are detained by immigration officials should exercise their rights, contact an attorney, and avoid signing documents without counsel.

Mejia said the guidance matters because detained people often face pressure to give information or accept documents that could lead to removal. She urged detainees to remember they have a right to remain silent, a right to an attorney, and a right to a local phone call to notify family or counsel.

Mejia opened by stressing the priority: "You have to try and, make sure that you don't provide self incriminating information." She added that allowing someone into a home can give officers legal grounds to investigate: "if you open the door and you allow them to enter even if they didn't have a judicial warrant, now they have the right to investigate you and detain you," Mejia said.

The presenter gave practical steps for families trying to find a detained relative, including using the federal detainee locator at locator.ice.gov. Mejia explained the locator can use an individual's A-number (a nine-digit immigration identification number) or…