Emergency numbers and free legal help

Any emergency

911 — free from any phone, even without service

Interpreters

Available on 911 and 988; say your language in English

Legal aid

Free civil help below an income threshold

Immigration

Look for BIA-accredited representatives, not notaries

The numbers to save now

Number	For
911	Any emergency — police, fire, ambulance. Free from any phone, including one with no service.
988	Suicide and mental health crisis. Free, 24 hours, interpreters available.
211	Local help of every kind: food, housing, utilities, healthcare. Not an emergency line.
311	City services in many cities: potholes, noise, rubbish, non-emergency police reports.
1-800-222-1222	Poison control. Free, 24 hours.

Save them now, and teach the children in the household 911 and your home address in English. That combination is what a child needs to be able to say, and it is worth practising before it matters.

Calling 911

Say where you are first — the address, or the nearest cross streets. If the call drops, that is the only thing that matters.

Then say what has happened and whether anyone is hurt. Stay on the line until told to hang up.

Interpreters are available: say the name of your language in English ("Spanish", "Vietnamese", "Korean", "Mandarin") and the operator will bring one onto the call. Calling 911 for a genuine emergency is never a risk to your immigration status.

Most areas also accept text to 911, which matters where speaking is unsafe or where hearing or speech makes a call difficult. Text only if you cannot call.

Free legal help

Legal aid organisations provide free civil legal help to people below an income threshold — housing, benefits, family law, consumer debt, employment. Every state has them.

Non-profit immigration legal services. Immigration is not covered by most legal aid funding, but a network of non-profits provides free or low-cost immigration representation. Look for organisations recognised by the Department of Justice with BIA-accredited representatives — they are authorised to represent you before immigration authorities without being attorneys.

Bar association referral services. Every state bar runs one, often with a free or low-cost first consultation.

Court self-help centres. Most courts have one, free to anyone, with staff who can explain procedure and help with forms (though not give legal advice).

Law school clinics, which take on cases supervised by faculty, and union or employer legal plans, which many people have without knowing it.

If you are stopped by police

You have the right to remain silent and to ask whether you are free to leave. If you are, walk away calmly. If you are arrested, you have the right to a lawyer, and to remain silent until you have one. These rights do not depend on citizenship.

Keep hands visible, do not run, and do not resist even if you believe the stop is wrong — the place to contest it is afterwards, with a lawyer.

Never present false documents, and never sign a document you do not understand or have not had translated. Signing something you were told was routine is how people give up rights they did not know they had.

Other help that is free

• Domestic violence, 24-hour and confidential, with support regardless of immigration status — protections exist specifically for immigrant survivors, including visas that do not depend on the abuser
• Language access. Any agency, court, hospital or school receiving federal funds must provide interpretation at no cost. Ask for it rather than bringing a child to interpret
• Your consulate, which can help if you are detained, hospitalised or lose your passport