What to do if ICE knocks on your door in Texas: What experts say

In this photo from April 9, 2019, a U.S. Customs and Border Protection patch is seen on the uniform of Rodolfo Karisch, Rio Grande Valley sector chief patrol agent for the U.S. Border Patrol. (Alex Edelman/Getty Images/TNS) Alex Edelman/TNS

Videos circulating out of San Antonio this week showing armed immigration agents entering a family’s home without clearly presenting a judicial warrant have reignited the question: What are you actually supposed to do if ICE shows up at your door in Texas?

The footage, which shows agents in tactical gear labeled “POLICE” moving through a residence where women and children were inside, drew scrutiny from civil rights advocates and lawmakers. As immigration enforcement ramps up across the country, legal experts say understanding your rights can make a critical difference.

Homeland Security Department inspectors Stephen Day, left, and Marshall Caudle keep an eye on a protest outside an Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility in Pflugerville on Feb. 1. Jay Janner/American-Statesman

Here’s what immigration legal groups and Texas legal-aid resources say to do in the moment.

Department of Homeland Security Inspector Marshall Caudle, watches a protest at a new Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility in Pflugerville Saturday February 1, 2025. The ICE facility is expected to open in April. Jay Janner/American-Statesman

In Texas, where immigration enforcement has long been part of the landscape, advocates say the most important thing is to slow the moment down. You don’t have to answer questions. And you generally don’t have to open your door unless officers have a warrant signed by a judge.

First: what you’re trying to avoid

Advocates’ big warning is about consent. If you open the door, step outside or motion someone in, those actions can be argued later as permission to enter — even if you didn’t mean it that way.

A sign announces the one-day closure of Uncommon Objects in Austin on Friday, Jan. 30, 2026, as part of a nationwide protest of the actions of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Jay Janner/Austin American-Statesman

So their advice is simple: keep the door closed, keep your voice calm and make officers do this the formal way.

If ICE knocks, do this (step by step)

1. Don’t open the door. Talk through the door. Teach kids not to open it.
2. Ask who they are, and ask for a judicial warrant. You can ask them to show ID/badges and tell you what agency they’re with. Then ask: “Do you have a judicial warrant signed by a judge?”
3. Ask them to slide any warrant under the door (or hold it to a window). Don’t open the door “just to take the paper.”
4. Check the warrant carefully. Legal groups emphasize this distinction: many ICE “warrants” are administrative forms signed by ICE — not a judge — and they don’t automatically authorize entry into a home without consent. A judge-signed warrant is the key detail advocates tell people to look for.
5. Say, clearly, that you do not consent to entry. A plain sentence, no debate: “I do not consent to you entering my home.”
6. Use your right to remain silent. Ask for a lawyer. If they start asking questions (where you were born, how you entered, your status), advocates say you can repeat: “I choose to remain silent. I want to speak to an attorney.”
7. Don’t lie or hand over fake documents. Don’t sign anything. Anything you say or sign can be used against you later, advocates warn.

If they force entry anyway: don’t resist. Ask for an attorney and stop answering questions — then write down everything you remember (time, what happened, descriptions, names if you can).

Department of Homeland Security Inspector Marshall Caudle, watches a protest at a new Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility in Pflugerville Saturday February 1, 2025. The ICE facility is expected to open in April. Jay Janner/American-Statesman

A short script you can save

• “Who are you? What agency are you with?”
• “I’m not opening the door. Do you have a judicial warrant signed by a judge?”
• “Slide it under the door.”
• “I do not consent to entry.”
• “I choose to remain silent. I want a lawyer.”

Make a plan before the knock

Advocates push families to:

• Pick an emergency contact and memorize their number.
• Make sure your child’s school or day care has a backup pickup person.
• Put medical and caregiving permissions in writing where your emergency contact can find them.
• If someone is detained, families can try ICE’s online detainee locator to find them.
• Texas legal-aid guidance also stresses the basics: stay calm, don’t run and don’t open the door unless there’s a warrant signed by a judge.

A protester holds up a sign for Alex Pretti at a march on Friday, Jan 30, 2026 at the Texas Capitol as part of nationwide protest against actions by U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement. Aaron E. Martinez/Austin American-Statesman

Why this is confusing right now

For years, the public-facing advice has been consistent: ICE can’t come inside your home without consent unless they have a judge-signed warrant.

But recent reporting describes ICE asserting broader authority through internal guidance. As first uncovered by the Associated Press, an internal Immigration and Customs Enforcement memo stated that agents may forcibly enter homes in certain situations using only administrative warrants — paperwork issued by ICE itself, not warrants signed by a judge.

Civil rights attorneys warn the directive collides with Fourth Amendment protections. The memo, which the AP reported is being used to train new officers amid an aggressive expansion of immigration arrests, has fueled confusion and fear about what rights actually apply when ICE comes knocking.

Feb 10, 2026