How to Prepare for an ICE Raid in Miami

Cities across the country, including Miami, are bracing for aggressive ICE raids.

January 21, 2025

Image: Two U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers walking in the street.

Cities across the country, including Miami, are bracing for aggressive ICE raids. Here's how to prepare. Photo by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement/Flickr

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Back in January 2024, President Donald Trump vowed that, within moments of his inauguration, he would begin "the largest domestic deportation operation in American history."

It appears that he has done just that.

Yesterday, within hours of taking office, Trump signed a slate of executive actions on immigration, triggering a sweeping crackdown and leaving cities across the country bracing for a tidal wave of aggressive U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids.

This afternoon, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced that it would be rescinding restrictions that kept ICE agents from conducting arrests in “sensitive” locations such as schools, churches, and daycare centers.

While details about the proposed sweeps remain scarce, a person with knowledge of the plans told Reuters there would be "operations all across the country" — including in Chicago, New York, and Miami.

"You’re going to see arrests in New York. You’re going to see arrests in Miami," the person reportedly told Reuters.

As such, New Times has compiled a list of information on how to prepare in the event of an ICE raid:

Here are guidelines from Florida Immigrant Coalition (also available in Spanish and Creole):

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Here are guidelines from the National Immigrant Justice Center (also available in Spanish):

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Here are guidelines from the Immigrant Defense Project (also available in Spanish):

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And here are guidelines from the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of the District of Colombia (more info on ACLU's website):

If immigration officers show up in your community, make sure that you know your rights

Si los agentes de inmigración llegan a tu comunidad, asegúrate de conocer tus derechos pic.twitter.com/XwKh6SAZjB
— ACLU of the District of Columbia (@ACLU_DC) January 20, 2025

Alex DeLuca is a Miami New Times staff writer who focuses on news, crime, and public safety, education, and cannabis. Prior to joining New Times in June 2020, Alex worked for the South Florida Sun Sentinel and freelanced for The Appeal. She holds a bachelor's degree from the College of Journalism and Communications at the University of Florida.

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