Neighborhood ICE Response Teams Roles

A Neighborhood Captain takes responsibility for helping to assemble and organize volunteers in their community to fill various roles. They help identify where someone's skills and interests are best put to use and connect them with resources and training. They strive to make sure all of the necessary roles have coverage and facilitate communication within the full Neighborhood ICE Response Team. They are the primary contact for partner organizations reaching out to communicate needs or alert volunteers in a certain neighborhood.

Rapid response teams respond to ICE activity in their neighborhood. They are often the first at the scene to make a report to the ICE Hotline, or respond to an alert. They do not intervene, except to make targeted individuals aware of their rights, or to ask for warrants of officers striving to enter private property. They record with their phone, and document any information about the offers, use of force or language. Rapid responders are available to provide information to family, friends or coworkers of detained individuals on how to connect with legal defense teams, attorney networks, and bail funds. They can also educate impacted community members on how to find where detainees have been taken and what legal rights they have.  

Community Advocates are active in reaching out to local, state and national decision makers. They may show up to lobbying events, help to organize protest events, or speak at public hearings. They stay aware of opportunities to engage locally, and help inform members of the Neighborhood ICE Response Team about opportunities to speak out or show up.

Whether making direct donations, or helping to raise funds or collect supplies, Food & Mutual Aid Donors are alerted about specific individuals or families in need. This could include helping raise funds to temporarily cover rent to avoid eviction while detained or if they are unable to return to work, bail funds, or groceries for individuals and families unable to leave their home.

Community Educators help to educate their neighbors or local businesses on how they can help and respond in the case of ICE activity. This could include helping connect individuals in the neighborhood with information on how they can become volunteers, distributing whistle kits, or providing know your rights info and signage.

Transport Volunteers are available to help provide rides to at-risk or targeted individuals when needed (rides to the doctor, to meet with a lawyer, etc.).  They are also available to pick up detainees who are being released and bring them home.

Street Medics volunteer to attend protests prepared with supplies to assist individuals who have been exposed to chemical agents or physically injured in the process of protesting or observing. They also help to educate and train others on what they can bring to protect themselves in the face of escalation by ICE or police.

Team Trainers lead virtual or in-person trainings for Neighborhood ICE Response Teams to understand & practice the various roles, learn tips on effectively working  together. They help provide essential resources and information for volunteers or teams to get started. They also help to develop (or source existing) training materials or fact sheets that can be distributed more broadly.

Volunteers helping with kit collection will source materials for kits that can be distributed to volunteers or community members. This could include 3D printing whistles, printing paper materials, sourcing Red Cards, etc. They also help host or participate in kit assembly gatherings.