Resources Safety and your rights
Police stops and arrests
Your rights when New York City police stop or arrest you, how an arrest affects an immigration case, where to get a free lawyer and how to complain about an officer.
This is general information, not legal advice: QARAVAN has no lawyers. QARAVAN does not help anyone enter the US and cannot arrange visas, invitations, sponsorship or evacuation. For your own case, talk to a licensed immigration attorney or a representative accredited by the U.S. Department of Justice.
The New York City Police Department (NYPD) is a City agency, not ICE. But a criminal case can affect an immigration case, so after an arrest you need two conversations: with a criminal defense lawyer and with an immigration lawyer.
The government provides a free criminal defense lawyer (a public defender). They defend you in the criminal case, not the immigration case.
This is general information, not legal advice; QARAVAN has no lawyers.
Start here
- If an officer stops you, ask “Am I free to leave?”: if you are not being detained, you may leave.
- You have the right to stay silent about your country of birth, status and how you entered. Sign nothing and talk to a lawyer first.
- If you are arrested, say you want a lawyer, and tell your defender you are not a US citizen.
Levels of police stops as described by the CCRB (the City agency that investigates complaints about the NYPD)
| What the officer may do | What you may do | |
|---|---|---|
| Level 1: a request for information | The officer may ask where you are going and coming from and where you live, and may ask for ID, but may not restrict your movement, detain, search or frisk you | You are free to leave. If you are not sure whether you are being detained, ask “Am I free to leave?” You may ask for a business card |
| Level 2: the common law right of inquiry | With a founded suspicion that criminal activity is happening, the officer may ask accusatory questions (“Do you have anything on you?”) and may seek consent to search. The officer may not restrict your movement | You are free to leave. The officer should identify themselves and explain the reason, must say that a search can happen only with your consent, and should offer a business card with their name and shield number at the end |
| Level 3: a stop on reasonable suspicion | If the officer reasonably suspects you have committed, are committing or are about to commit a crime, the officer may detain you, and may frisk you if the officer believes you are armed | You are not free to leave. The officer must identify themselves and explain the encounter, and at the end should offer a business card |
Ask if you may leave
Say “Am I free to leave?” If you are not being detained, calmly leave.
Find out who it is
Under the Right to Know Act (since October 19, 2018), in many encounters an NYPD officer must state their name, rank, command and badge number at the start. You can always ask for a business card with these details, and after a search, frisk and some other encounters the officer must offer one.
Refuse a search
You can refuse a search, and the officer must tell you there will be no search without your consent unless there is another legal basis. Say “I do not consent to a search” and don't resist physically.
Ask for an interpreter
Say “I need an interpreter”: under NYPD rules officers must use interpretation, including by phone, before a search.
Stay silent about status and sign nothing
You can stay silent about your country of birth, status and how you entered, whoever asks, and talk to a lawyer before answering police. You don't have to sign anything.
What each level allows
At level 1 an officer can approach you with an objective reason and doesn't have to explain or offer a card. At level 3 they can detain you and, if they believe you are armed, frisk you and possibly search you. They must identify themselves and explain why.
Ask for a lawyer
Say you will speak only with a lawyer, and until then sign nothing and say nothing. If you can’t pay a lawyer, the court assigns a free defender at the first hearing (arraignment), most often from The Legal Aid Society. The court interpreter is free: say “Russian”.
Tell your defender you are not a citizen
Under the Supreme Court's Padilla v. Kentucky (2010), defenders must explain the immigration consequences of a guilty plea to noncitizen clients. Tell your defender about your status before any decision in the case.
Remember that ICE will learn of the arrest
After an arrest your fingerprints are taken. The police send them to the FBI, and the FBI automatically sends them to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) so ICE can check whether you can be deported (this is how ICE describes its Secure Communities program). New York's laws do not stop this, so talk to an immigration lawyer after any arrest, even if the case was dropped.
Contact Immigrant Defense Project
The Criminal-Immigration Hotline gives one-on-one advice on how a criminal case affects an immigration case. Fill in the form at immigrantdefenseproject.org/hotline/; they reply within two business days. A first assessment takes 4 to 6 weeks unless there is an urgent deadline. They don't take on representation.
Get a certificate of disposition for each arrest
The assessment needs a certificate of disposition for every arrest: get it from the court or your defender.
Do not miss court dates
If you miss a criminal court date, the court can issue a warrant for your arrest, which hurts your immigration options. If you already missed one, contact your lawyer as soon as possible.
Ask about an ICE request
ICE can ask police or a jail to hold someone (a detainer). The NYPD honors it only with a judicial warrant and the conditions set by law. Immigrant Defense Project can help you find out if there is one on you.
Free lawyers for criminal cases, by the borough where your case is
| Organizations | How to reach them | |
|---|---|---|
| Bronx | The Legal Aid Society (Criminal Defense) and The Bronx Defenders | The court assigns the defender; websites legalaidnyc.org and bronxdefenders.org |
| Brooklyn | The Legal Aid Society (Criminal Defense) and Brooklyn Defender Services | The court assigns the defender; websites legalaidnyc.org and bds.org |
| Manhattan | The Legal Aid Society (Criminal Defense) | The court assigns the defender; website legalaidnyc.org |
| Queens | The Legal Aid Society (Criminal Defense), Queens Defenders and Brooklyn Defender Services (Queens office) | The court assigns the defender; websites legalaidnyc.org, queensdefenders.org and bds.org |
| Staten Island | The Legal Aid Society (Criminal Defense) | The court assigns the defender; website legalaidnyc.org |
The Legal Aid Society, Criminal Defense Practice
Any statusFree
Free criminal defense lawyers in every borough. Usually the court assigns a Legal Aid defender at the first hearing; office addresses are on the website. The organization advises talking to a lawyer before talking to police.
The Legal Aid Society, juvenile defense
Under 25Free
Offices handling juvenile cases in each borough; addresses are on the website.
Brooklyn Defender Services
Any statusFree
Criminal defense in Brooklyn and Queens, family defense and immigration help. It also helps people worried about ICE arrests even if they are not clients. You can write through the form at bds.org/contact.
Queens Defenders
Any statusFree
Free criminal defense lawyers in Queens.
The Bronx Defenders
Any statusFree
Free criminal defense lawyers in the Bronx; the organization is also part of NYIFUP, the City's free lawyer program for detained immigrants.
Immigrant Defense Project, Criminal-Immigration Hotline
Any status
One-on-one advice on how an arrest or criminal case affects an immigration case, and referrals to free and private immigration lawyers. Fill in the website form; they reply within two business days. You need a certificate of disposition for each arrest. They don't represent people in court or take immigration cases.
File a complaint whatever your status
The CCRB is the City agency that investigates complaints about the NYPD. You can complain without papers: status doesn't matter.
You do not need the name or badge number
You can file a complaint without knowing the officer’s name or shield number.
Choose how to file
Online at nyc.gov/ccrbcomplaint, or in person: at the CCRB office (100 Church Street, 10th Floor, New York, NY 10007, 9 am to 5 pm, walk-in) or at any NYPD precinct. Complaints are taken in any language, even from jail.
Say what happened
The CCRB handles excessive force, abuse of authority (including threats to call ICE and refusing to give name and badge number), discourtesy, offensive language and false statements.
You can also complain about a refused business card
If an officer didn't give a card when required or when you asked, complain to the CCRB: it also handles Right to Know Act violations.
Civilian Complaint Review Board (CCRB)
Any statusFree
Takes complaints about the NYPD whatever your immigration status, in any language, even from jail; you do not need to know the officer’s name or shield number. Online: nyc.gov/ccrbcomplaint.
Right to Know Act (CCRB)
Any statusFree
A description of the law under which officers must identify themselves and offer business cards, and when asking to search must explain that you can refuse.
- NYPD
- The New York City Police Department, the City police.
- CCRB
- The Civilian Complaint Review Board, the City agency that takes and investigates complaints about NYPD officers.
- Public defender
- A criminal defense lawyer provided free by the government to people who cannot afford one.
- Right to Know Act
- A New York City law, in effect since October 19, 2018: officers must identify themselves, offer business cards and explain that you can refuse a search.
- Shield number
- The number of an officer’s badge; together with the name it lets you file a complaint.
- Padilla v. Kentucky
- A 2010 U.S. Supreme Court decision: a defense lawyer must explain to a non-citizen client the immigration consequences of a guilty plea.
- Certificate of disposition
- A court certificate of the outcome of a case from an arrest; immigration lawyers need it for the analysis.
- Detainer
- An ICE request to the police or a jail to keep a person for a while longer so ICE can pick them up.
- Frisk
- Patting down a person’s clothes from the outside when an officer suspects the person has a weapon.
All pages: Safety and your rights