Family Emergency Plan:
A Preparedness Workbook for Our Families and Communities
Emergencies arrive without warning — a fire, a storm, a medical crisis, or contact with immigration enforcement. A written plan means the people you trust can step in quickly to care for your children, reach your lawyer, and keep your household running. This free packet includes a four-page fillable plan, emergency wallet cards for every family member, and the ICE privacy waiver that lets your congressional office advocate for you if you are detained. Completing it is an act of care for your family, not a prediction that something bad will happen.
Now available in six languages: English, Nepali, Arabic, Amharic, French, and Somali. The Family Emergency Plan launched at our July 13, 2026 community webinar, co-hosted with Alianza Americas, and community translators from our member organizations have been expanding it since. Every version is fillable on a computer or printable for hand-fill. Scroll down to download.
One more translation is on the way: The Kreyòl Ayisyen (Haitian Creole) version is in progress with our member organizations and community translators. Check back on this page, or follow CUSP and our member organizations for the release announcement.
Important: This workbook is a community preparedness tool and is intended for informational purposes only. It does not constitute legal advice. For advice about your specific situation — including caregiver authorization documents for your state and the confidentiality choices on the ICE privacy waiver — please consult a qualified immigration attorney or accredited representative.
- About me & my immigration information — identity details, A-number, current status, work permit, pending applications, and where your document copies are kept
- Legal & congressional support — your immigration lawyer, a backup legal contact, your U.S. Representative’s district office, your consulate, and the local rapid-response hotline
- The people you trust — emergency contacts, a family communication tree (who calls whom, in what order), and the phone numbers your family has memorized — because phones are taken in detention
- Work & household — employer, landlord, bills someone would need to keep paying, pets, and your vehicle
- Children & caregivers — each child’s school, doctor, medications, and allergies; your designated and backup caregivers; the caregiver authorization; and the school’s authorized pickup list
- Health, money & digital access — medications (with a 30–90 day supply where possible), insurance, accounts a trusted person should know about, and where your passwords live
- Important documents checklist — sixteen items including power of attorney, HIPAA release, mail & property pickup designation, and a go-bag by the exit
Four cut-out cards per sheet, each with space for your name, your lawyer’s number, a trusted contact, and the rapid-response hotline — plus a short rights statement: I choose to remain silent. I want to speak with my lawyer. I do not consent to a search. I do not sign anything without my lawyer. Fill them in, cut along the dashed lines, and keep one in every wallet and backpack.
If someone is detained, their U.S. Representative’s office can inquire about the case and advocate on their behalf — but only if a signed privacy waiver naming that office is on file. Without it, DHS generally will not share information with the congressional office. The packet includes the official form (ICE Form 60-001) so families can complete it in advance and keep it with the plan.
Two things to know: the waiver is valid for 90 days from signature, so it must be re-signed to stay current, and the witness cannot be the recipient or the recipient’s coworker.
- Fill it out completely. In one sitting if you can, or a section at a time.
- Store it at home in a safe place with your other important papers — passports, immigration documents, medical records. Do not carry it with you day to day.
- Tell two trusted people where it is — a family member, close friend, or community leader — and make sure they know what it is and when to use it.
- Review it every six months, and whenever your status, address, medications, or caregiver arrangements change. Remember the privacy waiver expires 90 days after signature.
- Share the location of this plan only with people you fully trust.
- Never show or hand this plan to ICE or other law enforcement — it is private.
- You have the right to remain silent and the right to speak with a lawyer.
- Keep copies of key documents with a trusted person in a second location.
Follow for updates & new translations