I don't remember if this has ever been discussed before. I've always wondered about it in the back of my mind. I think we did broach this, and albaby said lawyers would be lining up to represent me (if I was deported, as I recall). But, what if I was just detained?

Simple scenario: 1poorlady (Filipina) and myself are "swept up" (quite illegally) by ICE. Assuming they actually observe our rights as far as calling a lawyer, who would I call?

I don't have a lawyer. I'm not rich enough to have one on retainer. The only ones I see ads for are personal injury and DUI lawyers. Who would I call, and how would I know to call them? And will they not be able to squeeze me in until next Thursday? I would need a lawyer NOW. Albaby isn't the right kind of lawyer, and probably can't practice in AZ anyway. He's the only lawyer I "know".

Sure, if it's personal injury, that's not an emergency. I can get home from the hospital, do some research, and then call Goldberg and Osbourne, or "The Husband and Wife Law Team" (a local couple), or Rafi law group, or a bunch of others that advertise ad nauseum. But if I'm in a detention center (jail, or whatever), and I get my phone call...how do I know who to call?

Granted, an unlikely scenario. But, given the current state of our police state, not inconceivable. And I could be picked up because I fit a vague description of some perp they issued an APB on by local PD. That could happen to anyone. They pick people up all the time. The common wisdom is not to say a word except "lawyer". But, again, I don't have one. Now what?

As an aside, I can't imagine what people flown to the detention center in TX do. Maybe if they have someone on the outside researching and calling on their behalf, they are lucky. Otherwise, they're really up a creek.