Even if you're in the United States without permission or proper immigration documents, various sections of the U.S. Constitution apply to you. There is a particularly important provision of the Fourteenth Amendment stating that, "No state shall . . . deprive any person of life, liberty or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws." An undocumented immigrant is definitely a "person." This means that you are owed such rights as a jury trial and the right to defend yourself against the charges if arrested; and if someone sues you over a civil matter, that you have the right to receive notice and to defend yourself in court. Also see "Defense Against Removal," below. These protect undocumented immigrants against unlawful search and seizure by law enforcement authorities (without probable cause and a warrant for such an action) and against self-incrimination. Undocumented immigrants have the right to file lawsuits, such as discrimination suits, in federal court. State laws var, but some authority is given to an undocumented immigrant the right to sue in state court, as well.
In most cases, you have the right to a hearing in immigration court and to defend yourself against deportation or removal from the United States. However, an exception known as "expedited removal" allows arriving undocumented immigrants to be sent back without seeing a judge, except in narrow circumstances such as if they assert a credible fear of return and wish to apply for asylum. And the definition of "arriving aliens" has been expanded under the Trump Administration to include anyone not inspected by an immigration officer at the border who has been continuously present in the U.S. for less than two years. Another exception is made if you have returned to the U.S. after a previous order of deportation. In this case, no further hearings are available to you, and the previous order can be immediately acted upon. If you are scheduled for a hearing before an immigration judge (in the Executive Office for Immigration Review or EOIR) you can challenge the grounds on which you are being deported or assert various defenses. In presenting your case, you can testify, submit supporting documents, and call witnesses. You also have the right to representation in immigration court by an attorney, but the U.S. government doesn't have to pay for one on your behalf. You may be able to find low-cost legal help from a charitable organization serving immigrants. If you go to our Agency page you will see law firms near you.
A handful of U.S. states offer driver’s licenses to undocumented immigrants who live there. Note that this does not confer any form of legal status; it merely says you are allowed to drive a car in that state. The states whose laws allowed this, as of 2018, include California, Colorado, Connecticut, the District of Columbia, Hawaii, Illinois, Maryland, New Mexico, Nevada, Utah, Vermont, Washington, and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. See the National Immigration Law Center information on access to driver's licenses or cards for the latest.
It is against federal law for an employer to hire an undocumented immigrant. If you accept a job, then on your first day of work or soon after, the employer will (if obeying the law) check to make sure you a green card, visa with work privileges, work permit (also called an employment authorization document or EAD), or naturalization document. Employers are responsible for taking these and other measures to make sure they don't hire undocumented workers. However, they sometimes hire them unknowingly or without a careful check. And, they sometimes hire them knowingly, for a variety of reasons. Use of fraudulent documents to obtain a job is a violation of immigration law, and can harm your future chances of obtaining lawful immigration status. Once you are hired, however, you have certain rights with regard to your relationship to your employer.
Like any employee, you have the right to be paid for the work you do, at minimum wage, at least, plus overtime pay when legally required. Like other workers, you also have the right to healthy and safe conditions on the job, free from abuse, exploitation, or sexual harassment. These rights are all too often violated, however, because employers know the workers don't want to reveal their undocumented status. If you're hurt on the job, you have the right to collect workers' compensation benefits in some states. You may even have the right to collect disability insurance if you paid into it from your paychecks. You have the right to organize or join a union to force better working conditions. Undocumented immigrants are blocked from collecting unemployment insurance in most states, because a condition of unemployment insurance is usually that the employee must be willing and able to work. Undocumented workers are not technically able to work, so they don't qualify.
Undocumented immigrants are legally protected against discrimination on the basis of race or nationality, by employers or anyone else. Employers must ask you for your legal authorization to be in the United States before they can hire you, but they can't single you out and ask only you, or only individuals of your nationality. To be legal, the employer's asking for documentation must be company policy, covering all workers.
The law surrounding the legal rights of undocumented immigrants is complicated. Plus, the facts of each case are unique.
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