Emergency Checklist: When at Risk for Deportation
Prepare Now—Because Waiting Isn’t an Option
Deportation doesn’t wait. It doesn’t ask if you’re ready. It comes suddenly—tearing families apart, leaving children without parents, and turning lives upside down.
Too many families face this crisis without a plan—and the result is chaos: lost income, emotional trauma, and legal confusion. But it doesn’t have to be that way. You can prepare. You can protect your family. And you can take back control before the system takes it from you.
This isn’t just about paperwork—it’s about survival.
This is your emergency checklist—the essential steps to take now, not later. Because if deportation becomes your reality, every second will count.
Be ready. Stay strong. You are not alone.
Step 1: Know the Warning Signs—And Act Fast
When you receive a deportation notice, it may come in one of several forms—a departure order, an exclusion order, or a deportation order. No matter what it’s called, the message is the same: you could be forced to leave your life behind.
That’s why your emergency plan must start before that paper ever arrives.
Step 2: Build Your Emergency Plan Like Your Life Depends on It—Because It Might
PREVENTION. PREPAREDNESS. POWER. These are your weapons.
Create your emergency plan now, and make sure your loved ones know exactly what to do if you’re detained or deported.
Organize your personal documents.
Keep original identity and personal documents in a safe place. Make and store copies where someone you trust can access them if you are detained or deported.
Gather immigration and criminal history documents. These will help a lawyer screen you for any legal defenses against deportation
Immigration documents: any applications submitted to immigration or any documents showing your A# (Alien number), if you have one.
Criminal documents: certificates of disposition from courts and/or rap sheet.
Get screened by a lawyer as soon as possible to see if you are eligible for any legal defenses against deportation.
Many nonprofits offer free legal screening across the country. Be careful of scams! Always keep your original documents.
If hiring a lawyer to represent you, always have a signed contract and make sure to review the document in your preferred language. Make sure both of you sign the contract and you get a copy.
If hiring a private lawyer, always get a second opinion before paying and get a receipt for payment (ideally paying by check or money order instead of cash).
Plan for Medical Needs
Write down crucial medical information to carry with you, including contact information for your doctors and medications you take with names and dosages
Identify someone you trust and arrange for them to have access to your medical information in case they need to provide it in support of your legal case or so you have proper medical care if detained, or being allowed to relocate with continued supply of medication.
To do this, consider signing a HIPPA form, giving them access to your medical files and allowing your doctors to communicate with them about medical needs.
Plan For Childcare Needs
Write down crucial contact information for childcare to carry with them for you. Identify someone who can care for your children if you are detained or deported. Make sure that person agrees to act as a caretaker and has the following information:
School or Daycare location and contact information. Provide the school with an emergency contact to pick up your child/children. Provide permission in writing for emergency contact to make medical and legal decisions for your child/children
Any medical conditions your child has and how to address their needs, including contact information for doctors and information on medications and/or allergies.
Emergency contact information for other loved ones
Put important documents for each child in a safe place accessible to your emergency caretaker. This may include your child’s medical/school records, birth certificate, and any legal agreements you have made with your emergency caretaker.
Consult with a lawyer about whether to grant a loved one power to make legal decisions for your child if you are detained. Some options include:
Power of Attorney & Guardianship
- Choose someone you trust completely—not just a friend, but someone who will fight for your family.
- Give them legal authority to act on your behalf.
- Be sure that your child has a passport with your notarized permission to travel abroad
Talk to a lawyer about options like special power of attorney or guardianship for your children. Special Power of Attorney: This is a legal document in which a parent authorizes another adult to act temporarily in the parent’s place on behalf of the child. It is a private agreement and can be cancelled at anytime
Guardianship: This is a more formal arrangement than Power of Attorney and typically involves Family Court. This allows your loved ones to make medical, educational, financial or other decisions while you are detained or deported. It is harder to reverse and can mean giving up some of your power to make decisions for your child. So it is important to talk to an expert before doing this.
📞 Emergency Contacts
- Memorize the phone numbers of your most trusted people.
- Make sure they know their role in your plan.
- Keep their info written down—don’t rely on your phone.
⚖️ Legal Help is Out There—Use It
- Contact your State Bar Association for referrals to trusted immigration and family law attorneys.
- Register with your consulate—they can provide emergency support, information, and help locating services in the receiving country.
- Be cautious of scams. Real help doesn’t ask for cash up front or pressure you.
Deportation is a two way planning for both leaving the United States and relocating to a new country. Safe housing, food, transportation, means of earning a living to sustain your basic necessities.
Avoid unnecessary spending.
Prepare your to go medications in the original packaging with the information from your doctor. You are usually able to carry your medications with you.
Identify where you will stay and feed while getting back on your feet in the receiving country. Sometimes, it might be a local shelter temporarily until you get things together.
Let the consulate know that you have no housing, if that’s the case.
Many people are ready and able to mislead you in a direction you rather not go, sometimes local gangs, prostitution of some, etc.
Access to money is very important. Relying on others can pose unnecessary difficulties. bank with a bank to allow easy access to funds in the receiving country to pay your basic necessities, this requires some research
Maintain your identification because transactions often require you to have an ID ie passport, driver license.
Verify this with your consulate, they have the answers about your receiving country.
If your consulate is not listed, ask google or contact us.
Remember you are not alone, we are praying and cheering for your successful journey through this chaotic situation.
To stay financially independent, you may need to work or create a job.
While detained, take online courses or courses in the detention center, if you can’t read spend time improving to gain transferable skills, including information about potential farming.
The Bahamas, Address: 231 E 46 St NY, NY 10017 phone: 212 421 6420
Antigua and Barbuda, Address: 305 E 47th St #6A, New York, NY 10017 phone: 212-541-4117
Barbados, Address: 820 second ave, 5th floor NY, NY 10017 phone: 212 551 4325
Belize, Address: 600 3rd Ave NY, NY 10016, phone: 929-447-2884
Barbados, Address: 820 second ave 5th floor NY, NY 10017 phone: 212-551-4325
Dominica, Address: 800 3nd Ave suite, 400H NY, NY 10017 phone: 212-599-8478
Grenada, Address: 685 3rd Ave #1101 NY, NY 10017 phone: 212 599 0301
Haiti, Address: 555 5th Ave, 3rd floor. NY, NY 10015, Phone: 212-697-9767
Jamaican, Address: 300 E 42nd St, New York, NY 10017, phone: 212-935-9000
St Kitts Nevis And Anguilla, Address: 412- 414 75th St 5th floor NY, NY 10021 phone: 212 535 1234/ 212-535-5555
St Lucia, Address: 630 3rd Ave 7th floor NY NY 10017 phone: 212 697 9360
Mexico, Address: 27 East 39th Street, NY, NY 10016, phone: 212-217-6400
El Salvador, Address: 14 West 37th Street, NY, NY 10018, phone: 888-301-1130
St Vincent and the Grenadines, Address: 801 2nd Ave 4th floor NY, NY 10017 phone: 212 687 4490
Trinidad And Tobago, Address: 125 Maiden lane 4th FL. NY, NY 10036, phone: 212 682 7272