What To Do If ICE Shows Up at Your Quaker Meeting | PYM | Updated on March 19, 2026

 Originally Published Feb 12, 2025 - Updated on March 19, 2026

We are a community rooted in worship and in peace and justice. It is important for Quaker Meetings to be prepared if Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) or other law enforcement officials arrive at a Meetinghouse. This guide outlines steps to protect vulnerable individuals and uphold our values of sanctuary and solidarity. 

NOTE: This is for general informational purposes only. It is not written by lawyers or for specific meetings or situations and therefore does not constitute legal advice. For specific legal concerns, consult an immigration attorney or legal aid organization. 

This information and resources are important. It is also important to simply be who we are.  Our practices of worship, acting from a place that is centered in God, and seeing the Light in all people are practices that guide us in everything, including coping with ICE and our current government. Take a long slow breath and stay centered in love. 

Key things to know about ICE and places of worship: 

• What is and is not covered by the preliminary injunction
  Worship spaces on PYM-affiliated meeting properties are covered by the preliminary injunction. ICE is required to have a judicial warrant and advance approval from headquarters to enter worship spaces, or to enter “under exigent circumstances,” such as imminent threat of danger or hot pursuit, with approval from headquarters still required after the fact.

  In non-worship spaces, ICE is allowed to go anywhere the public is allowed to go. When your non-worship spaces are open and Friends and visitors can enter your building, ICE also can.  Anywhere a visitor would be allowed to go, ICE would be allowed.

• Where ICE cannot go, with or without the injunction
  Anywhere a visitor couldn’t go on their own, ICE is not allowed to go without your invitation. During the week when the building is closed to the public, offices or youth spaces that are restricted to visitors off the street are also restricted to ICE.  

• Warrants that allow ICE to enter private space.
  To enter private spaces – places not open to the public – ICE must have a judicial warrant.  This will be signed by a judge and will indicate the address of the meeting, and which spaces the agent is allowed to enter. If they have a judicial warrant, they have the right to enter  the places identified by the warrant. 

Frequently ICE will show up with an administrative warrant which is kind of like a hall-pass they issue for themselves.  You do not have to honor anything except a judicial warrant.   

• Warrants that allow ICE to make an arrest: 

• I-200 (Warrant for Arrest of Alien): Issued by an ICE officer, this warrant authorizes the arrest of a non-citizen but does not allow ICE to enter private property without consent. I-200_SAMPLE.PDF 

• I-205 (Warrant of Removal/Deportation): Also issued by ICE, this warrant orders the removal of a non-citizen but does not grant permission to enter private property. I-205_SAMPLE.PDF 

Prepare in advance 

• Print and post the PYM House of Worship sign

• • Post this sign in prominent places around the entrance to the meetinghouse like the front door, the front windows, and the front lawn. Place on any back or side entrances that can also be used to access the meetinghouse.

• Print and post the PYM Private Spaces sign

• • If your meetinghouse has private areas that are never open to the public, such as the business office, post this sign on any entrances to those areas.

• Print and distribute PYM Green Cards

• • These cards can be given out to all groups who use your meetinghouse (whether Quaker or not) to help prepare for potential ICE actions. Your meeting’s authorized representative should be the clerk(s) or another trusted member.

• Designate Point People:  

• • Identify individuals to engage with ICE if they come to the Meetinghouse. They will evaluate a warrant, tell the agents that no one is speaking with them, and will try to move the agent away from worship and people.

• • Identify individuals to contact the PYM General Secretary as soon as possible after ICE arrives. The General Secretary’s phone number is (215) 241-7210.

• • Identify individuals to document everything that happens. 

• • Consider selecting someone less likely to be profiled or harassed by law enforcement. 

• • Consider selecting someone who is least likely to be intimidated and highly likely to stay grounded. 

• Know Your Rights: 

• • Review resources on the rights of citizens and immigrants.   

• • No one is obligated to answer questions about immigration status. 

• Develop a Plan: 

• • Consider how you will protect vulnerable people, children, and people who are afraid. 

• • Remember to plan not only for First Day Meeting for Worship but also other events, such as regular office hours or mid-week social groups. If non-Quaker groups use your meeting space, it is extremely important to connect with them to make sure they also have a plan for ICE actions and are ready to communicate with the Meeting should it happen. 

• • Make sure people in the meeting know who the designated point people are and that no one else should have any interaction with ICE. 

• • Designate private areas in your meetinghouse that are never open to the public and post the Private Spaces sign linked above (not all meetings need to or can do this and that’s OK).

• • Hold training sessions & role-playing exercises. Train on your plan and run a drill, simulating an actual encounter with ICE. The more you have practiced what to say and do the easier it will be to enact your plan in a real high-stress situation. 

• • Establish contacts with a lawyer or legal aid groups.

Key things to do if ICE comes to meeting 

• Contact the PYM General Secretary immediately at (215) 241-7210, who will contact PYM’s legal counsel on the lawsuit.

• Do not allow ICE to enter private spaces without a judicial warrant

• • Do NOT open the door to private spaces.   

• • Calmly move vulnerable people to private areas of your meetinghouse, if possible. Do not run. Do not try to exit the building. People running or leaving can give ICE agents reason to claim further action or force was necessary.  

• • If they come during a time when the building is not open to visitors off the street, do not let them in without a judicial warrant that is signed by a judge and indicates the correct address and the places they agent can go. 

• • Ask them to slide a warrant under the door or hold it up to the glass before letting them in. 

• Stay Calm and Silent 

• • Quakers were born for this response. 

• • Part of ICE’s practice is to be loud, intimidating and frightening.  This is a deliberate tactic that successfully intimidates people into voluntarily doing what ICE wants them to, despite the fact they don’t have to.  React with calm. 

• • The only thing to say to an ICE agent is that you choose to remain silent, and you won’t do anything without the advice of a lawyer. 

• • You have the right to remain silent. You do not have to give ICE agents any information. You do not have to give them information about anybody else. 

• • No one is required to answer questions about citizenship or immigration status about anyone. 

• • Even if ICE agents are shouting or are telling you that you must answer, do not.   

• • ICE might lie and tell you that you have to talk or show them documents.  You do not. 

• • Do not lie. Anything you do say can be used against you, including lies.  ICE might lie; you should not. 

• Do NOT sign anything without legal counsel. 

• • If ICE has a judicial warrant, accompany them and ensure they only access the listed areas. 

• • Do not give ICE any documents.  You do not have to show any documents of any kind – not identification, not immigration or citizenship documents – nothing. 

• Engage with Officials (Designated Point Person): 

• • Try to keep ICE away from people; Step outside and close the door behind you. 

• • Ask to see identification and a judicial warrant. Make sure that the warrant is signed by a judge and lists the correct address and spaces the agent is allowed to go. Do not let them go to any private places they do not have a warrant for. 

• • Calmly state your rights based on the preliminary injunction: “This is a private house of worship. We have a preliminary injunction from the Court in Philadelphia Yearly Meeting et al v. U.S. Department of Homeland Security et al, No. 8:2025cv00243 (Federal District of Maryland) that restricts immigration enforcement here. Any immigration enforcement actions at this location must be in compliance with the Court’s preliminary injunction and protective order.”

• • State clearly: “I do not consent to this search.” 

• Document Everything: 

• • Write down information about the agents on-scene, including how many are present and how many enter the meetinghouse. Write down all badge numbers and names you learn. Write down how the agents are dressed and how they are armed.    

• • Make a note of any agents who make those present believe they are not allowed to move around or leave. Make a note of any agents who mistreat civilians and how they do so.

• • If ICE arrests anyone, write down their name, contact info, and/or date of birth. Ask the agents where they are being taken and write it down. If any agents refuse to answer, write it down.

• • Take pictures of the warrant. 

• • Write down everything that is said and done. 

• • Record the encounter.  

• Follow Up 

• • Contact PYM’s General Secretary at (215) 241-7210, if you have not already done so; or contact him again to report any additional information. He will pass along your report to our attorneys on the case.

• • Notify the Wider Community: Share details with Quaker Meetings and local allies to coordinate support.

• • Provide Emotional & Practical Support: Offer safe spaces, legal aid, and community solidarity to those affected. 

Protect vulnerable individuals 

• Do NOT Provide Information on anyone: 

• • No one is required to answer questions about citizenship or immigration status about themselves or anyone else. 

• • Do NOT sign anything without legal counsel. 

• • Encourage individuals at risk to remain quiet and ask for a lawyer 

• Know the rights of immigrants 

• Build relationships with local immigrant organizations and communities. 

• • Follow their lead on what they think is needed and important 

• Distribute “Red Cards” 

ICE and immigrants’ rights:
It is important that immigrants know their rights.  Meetings can be familiar with this info to support community members and F/friends. Here are a few resources: 

• The Informed Immigrant website has voluminous resources.  The section about the rights of immigrants at risk of detention will help immigrants be prepared. 

• The Immigrant Legal Resource Center also has good resources, including an Immigration Preparedness Toolkit that outlines concrete steps immigrants can take to protect themselves, provides a guide to seeking legal advice, and describes different immigration options available. 

• We Have Rights provides high quality animated videos about immigrant rights and provides an emergency plan template. 

• “Red Cards” are business card-size documents that can be carried all the time to provide immediate reminders of what to do if stopped by ICE.  Here is a printable card in English and in Spanish. 

• Example Interaction: Before viewing the following video, please be advised that it contains intense content depicting an interaction with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents. The footage illustrates the agents’ behavior during enforcement actions, the high-pressure environment such encounters can create, and the importance of standing firm in such situations. Some viewers may find this material distressing. Viewer discretion is advised. 
• How This Citizen Stopped ICE From Arresting 2 Immigrants | NowThis 

Additional information:

• The National Partnership for New Americans has shared a document with pages of links to resources for those who want a huge amount of information. 
• Another source is the ACLU resources on immigrant rights.