Access Free and Low-Cost Legal Assistance
Visit Law Help CA or Immigration Law Help to find immigration assistance near you.
California Rapid Response Networks
Bay Area
Alameda County Immigration Legal and Education Partnership (ACILEP)
Phone: (510) 241-4011 Website: https://www.acilep.org
Marin Rapid Response Network
Phone: 415-991-4545
North Bay Rapid Response Network (Sonoma, Napa & Solano Counties)
Phone: 707- 800-4544 Website: https://www.northbayop.org/nbrrn
West Marin Rapid Response Network
Phone: 415-755-3622
Stand Together Contra Costa
Phone: 925-900-5151 Website: https://standtogethercontracosta.org/
San Francisco Rapid Response Network
Phone: 415-200-1548 Website: http://sfilen.org
San Mateo County Rapid Response Network
Phone: 203-666-4472
Santa Clara County Rapid Response Network
Phone: 408-290-1144 Website: https://www.amigoscenter.com/rapid-respon
Other Northern & Central California
Centro del Pueblo Rapid Response Network (Humboldt County)
Phone: 707-200-8091 Website: https://www.instagram.com/centrodelpueblo
Kern County Rapid Response Network
Phone: 661-432-2230 Website: http://www.rapidresponsekern.com
Mendocino County Rapid Response Network (Mendocino County)
Phone: (707) 621-8220 Website: https://www.mendorrn.org
Monterey Rapid Response Network and San Benito County Solidarity Network (shared hotline number for Monterey and San Benito Counties)
Phone: 831-204-8082 San Benito website: https://sbcsolidaritynetwork.org
Sacramento Rapid Response Network
Santa Cruz County: Your Allied Rapid Response Network & Pajaro Valley Rapid Response
Phone: 831-239-4289 Website: https://santacruzrapidresponse.org
Valley Watch Rapid Response Network (Fresno, San Joaquin, Merced, Stanislaus, and Kern Counties)
Phone: 559-206-0151
Los Angeles Region
Los Angeles Raids and Rapid Response Network
Hotline: 888-624-4752
Boyle Heights Immigrant Rights Network (Boyle Heights, East L.A., Lincoln Heights, Commerce, Montebello, El Sereno, City Terrace, Vernon)
Hotline: (323) 805-1049 Website: https://www.instagram.com/boyleheightsirn
Immigrant Defenders Law Center Rapid Response Legal Resource Hotline (Los Angeles, San Bernardino, Orange, Riverside, San Diego, and Imperial counties)
Hotline: (213) 833-8283 Website: https://www.immdef.org/blog/immdefrrhotline
Other Southern California
Immigration Legal Service Coalition of San Diego
Hotline: (858) 751-7553
Immigrant Defenders Law Center Rapid Response Legal Resource Hotline (Los Angeles, San Bernardino, Orange, Riverside, San Diego, and Imperial counties)
Hotline: (213) 833-8283 Website: https://www.immdef.org/blog/immdefrrhotline
Inland Coalition For Immigrant Justice – Emergency Response Network (San Bernardino & Riverside Counties)
Hotline: 909-361-4588 Website: http://ic4ij.org
ÓRALE (City of Long Beach)
Hotline: 562-245-9575 Website: https://www.orale.org
Orange County Rapid Response Network
Hotline: 714-881-1558 Email:[email protected]
805 Immigrant Rapid Response Network (Santa Barbara, Ventura & San Luis Obispo Counties)
Hotline: (805) 870-8855 Website:www.805undocufund.org/alerts
VC Defensa (Ventura County)
Hotline: (805) 296-1119 Website: https://vcdefensa.org
SOURCE: https://www.ccijustice.org/carrn
Report Misconduct by Federal Agents
The California Department of Justice (CA DOJ) has launched a new online portal to assist members of the public in sharing information regarding potentially unlawful activity by federal agents and officers across the state. The portal, which allows Californians to submit video and photos, will help the CA DOJ capture and create a record of potentially unlawful conduct by federal agents, such as the use of excessive force, and inform actions the Department may take to protect the rights and safety of all Californians.
You can access the portal at: https://oag.ca.gov/ReportMisconduct. Please note that submitting information or filing a complaint in the portal does not mean that the Office of the Attorney General will necessarily take any particular action on your complaint. The Attorney General is prohibited by law from representing private individuals or providing legal advice, legal research, or legal analysis to private individuals. For legal referrals, contact the State Bar at 1-866-442-2529 or visit https://www.calbar.ca.gov. If you cannot afford a private attorney visit https://www.lawhelpca.org and click on the Find Legal Assistance tab to find local legal aid. If you are a victim, witness to a crime, or experiencing an emergency, you should contact your local police department or call 911.
Know Your Rights
- You Have the Right to Observe, Record & Document. Stay Calm.
- You can legally observe, record, and document immigration arrests that happen in public spaces.
- Staying calm helps protect your safety and the safety of the person being detained. Verbally attacking or physically approaching federal agents can escalate the situation and put everyone at risk. The federal government may pursue criminal charges against anyone who interferes with or obstructs a federal officer.
- Even if you believe the arrest is unlawful, you should not resist or physically intervene. Calmly and verbally assert your rights. SOURCE: https://www.gov.ca.gov/2026/01/24/knowyourrights
- You have the right to apply for and secure housing without sharing your immigration status. California law prohibits housing providers from asking about your immigration status unless you are applying for affordable housing funded by the federal government. Additionally, housing providers cannot harass or intimidate you by threatening or sharing information about your immigration status to ICE, law enforcement, or other government agencies.
- You have the right to access emergency medical care. Federal laws and regulations ensure the rights of all people to access emergency medical care, including undocumented immigrants.
- You have the right to an attorney. If you are arrested by police, you have the right to a government-appointed attorney. If you are detained by ICE and/or are facing immigration proceedings, you have the right to seek legal assistance through an attorney.
- State and local law enforcement cannot ask for your immigration status. California law expressly prohibits law enforcement from inquiring about a person's immigration status for immigration enforcement purposes.
- State and local law enforcement cannot share your personal information. This includes sharing your home or work address for immigration purposes, unless that information is available to the public or unless that information involves previous criminal arrest, convictions or similar criminal history.
- State and local law enforcement cannot assist ICE with immigration enforcement, with very limited exceptions. This means they cannot investigate, cannot interrogate, cannot arrest, and cannot detain you unless it is as part of joint federal task force where the primary purpose is not immigration enforcement.
The full "Know Your Immigration Rights" consumer alert is available in English, Spanish, Arabic, Armenian, Chinese, Hindi, Japanese, Korean, Persian, Punjabi, Russian, Tagalog, and Vietnamese. SOURCE: https://oag.ca.gov
Resources for Employers
The California Department of Justice and California Labor Commissioner’s Office have issued joint guidance on frequently asked questions to help employers and workers understand and comply with the Immigrant Worker Protection Act (Assembly Bill 450).
Guidance and Model Policies for Public Institutions
In December 2025, Attorney General Bonta issued updated guidance to TK-12 schools to help staff develop practical plans to protect the rights of immigrants and their families to safely access schools and programs in California.
In December 2024, Attorney General Bonta issued updated guidance to help staff develop practical plans to protect the rights of immigrants and their families to safely access public institutions by limiting support of immigration enforcement activity at these institutions.
- Guidance and Model Policies to Assist California's Superior Courts
- Guidance and Model Policies to Assist California's Healthcare Facilities
- Guidance and Model Policies to Assist California's Colleges and Universities
- Guidance and Model Policies to Assist the Division of Labor Standards Enforcement, the Agricultural Labor Relations Board, and the Division of Workers Compensation
- Guidance and Model Policies to Assist California's Public Libraries
- Guidance and Model Policies to Assist California Shelters
SOURCE: https://oag.ca.gov/immigrant
Guidance and Model Policies for Public Institutions
In light of the President's xenophobic rhetoric and an anticipated uptick in hostility toward immigrant communities, Attorney General Bonta issued updated guidance and resources for law enforcement, prosecutors, and victims of hate crimes:
- Law Enforcement Bulletin on Laws Prohibiting Hate Crimes and/or Provide for Enhanced Penalties for Specific Hates Crimes
- Hate Crimes Rapid Response Protocol for the Deployment of CADOJ Resources
- Guidance to Prosecutors on Hate Crimes
- Know Your Rights and Protections Under Hate Crimes Laws
In California, it is considered a hate crime if you are targeted because of your actual or perceived nationality, including your immigration or citizenship status. If you witness or are the victim of a hate crime, you should report it to your local law enforcement agency. California law prohibits law enforcement authorities from asking individuals, including those who are reporting or victims of potential crimes, about their immigration status, unless the information is necessary to certify the victim for a U visa (victim of crime visa) or T visa (victim of human trafficking visa). SOURCE: https://oag.ca.gov/immigrant
Latest Immigration Legislation (2025)
- SBX1-1: Enables California to legally defend against federal policies adversely impacting the state, its taxpayers and residents by providing the Department of Justice up to $25 million. Promotes transparency by requiring disclosure on a public website noting how this taxpayer money is being used.
- SBX1-2: Strengthens resources for immigration and legal aid services by providing $10 million to the Legal Services Trust Fund, $10 million to the Immigration Services Funding program, also known as One California, as well as $5 million to be distributed to nonprofit organizations through the Judicial Council’s California Access to Justice Commission.
- SB 81: Restores the immigrant community’s sense of safety in healthcare settings by prohibiting immigration enforcement officers into private areas of healthcare settings unless presented with a valid judicial warrant or court order. Establishes procedures for how employees in these settings should respond when immigration enforcement officers request access information about the immigrant patient or their family members.
- SB 635: Safeguards the privacy of Californians bolstering local economies through street vending by prohibiting local agencies that regulate their businesses from collecting citizenship status or criminal background information.
- SB 580: Preserves trust between California’s immigration community and state and local agencies by requiring the Attorney General to work with stakeholders in developing and publishing model policies for these agencies’ interactions with immigration enforcement.
- SB 98: Informs students and school staff when immigration enforcement has been confirmed on K-12 and higher education campuses.
- AB 49: Strengthens protections for California’s immigrant community by ensuring employees of an immigration enforcement agency are not allowed on school campuses without presenting a valid judicial warrant or court order. Prevents school officials from providing information about students, their families, teachers and school employees to immigration authorities.
- SB 627: Fights for transparency from federal immigration agents by making it a crime for any peace officer operating in California from wearing a facial covering in the performance of their duties.
- SB 805: Protects all Californians by expanding the crime of false impersonation of a peace officer; requires law enforcement agencies to adopt policies to visibly display identification, and requires specified law enforcement officers operating in California who are not uniformed to visibly display identification that includes either a name or badge number to the public when performing their duties.
- AB 495: Strengthens protections for students at school by requiring local educational agencies to notify their loved ones of the students’ right to a free, public education and requires these agencies to ensure their policies regarding immigration enforcement activity stay updated with the CA Attorney General’s latest guidance. Additionally, requires the administrator of a child day care facility to request updated emergency contact information from parents and to report to the licensing agency and the California Attorney General (AG) any request for information by an officer of any law enforcement agency.
- SB 281: Protects noncitizen legal defendants by requiring courts to administer a verbatim advisement about immigration consequences before accepting pleas of guilty or no contest.
- AB 1261: Mandates the provision of legal counsel for immigrant youth, including unaccompanied undocumented minors in immigration-related proceedings.
