Stopped by a federal immigration officer? Here’s what you need to know.

Immigration enforcement has significantly changed under President Donald Trump’s administration, but your fundamental rights when confronted by officers have not, legal experts and advocates say.

As immigration enforcement has surged in American cities, clashes between immigration officers and civilians have intensified, at times turning violent.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents have approached and detained numerous people across Maryland through traffic stops, sidewalk patrols and other enforcement operations. Some legal experts have claimed that agents violated laws and constitutional rights.

The Department of Homeland Security, which oversees ICE, has defended officers’ actions, saying they target criminals or people they have reason to believe are in violation of immigration laws.

Here’s what you need to know about your rights.

If you’re stopped in public

If you’re in a public place and stopped by federal agents, even if you’re not a U.S. citizen, you’re not obligated to answer any questions or identify yourself.

We Are CASA, an immigrant advocacy organization that also represents many in court, said it’s legal in Maryland not to give your name to officers when asked, but that may not be the case in other states.

Cori Alonso-Yoder, director of the Immigration Clinic at the University of Maryland Francis King Carey School of Law, said a person has the right to remain silent and walk away from federal officers who don’t have an arrest warrant.

Officers also don’t have the right to search a person or their belongings without a warrant, she said.

Under the law, a person has the right to decline a search or remain silent if stopped by a federal officer, Alonso-Yoder said, but she added that in reality, “it’s very difficult to just ignore somebody, especially somebody with the force of the law and who’s masked.”

If they knock on your door

Legal experts largely agree that federal agents are obligated to have a warrant signed by a judge to enter a home.

Often, immigration officers have “administrative warrants,” which are signed by officers from federal agencies. These give agents the authority to make arrests in public spaces, but not to search or enter someone’s home.

Immigration officials, however, have allowed ICE officers to forcibly enter homes without search warrants, The Associated Press reported.

Tricia McLaughlin, a former DHS assistant secretary under Trump, said in an emailed statement earlier this year that immigration officials have warrantless search authority. McLaughlin has since left the department, but representatives said her statements still stand.

This has been a national point of contention between legal experts and the Trump administration.

If an officer arrives at your door without a judicial warrant and you don’t want them to enter, you don’t have to open your door, according to the National Immigration Law Center. If they have one, you can ask an officer to show you the document through a window or to slip it under your door to review before letting officers enter.

If you’re pulled over in a vehicle

ICE and federal law enforcement cannot enforce traffic laws — that is the job of local and state police. But if a federal agent initiates a traffic stop, you must pull over your vehicle.

The American Civil Liberties Union recommends partially opening your window to talk with officers. There have been instances of federal agents reaching into windows and opening car doors or breaking windows to remove people from their vehicles.

Federal immigration officers are required to have reasonable suspicion that you’re in the country illegally before pulling you over. ICE agents have started to use license plate reader technology to collect vehicle information and determine a driver’s possible immigration status. This technology has been used in Maryland, federal court documents show.

In Maryland, hundreds of miles away from the United States’ international borders with Mexico and Canada, there is a higher bar for assuming a person is in the country illegally, according to the ACLU.

If you’re not a U.S. citizen, you can show any immigration papers you have on you, or you can exercise your right to remain silent, the ACLU said. If you choose not to show immigration papers, officers could take you into custody until they verify your immigration status.

What is reasonable suspicion?

Federal officers, even without a warrant, may temporarily detain a person until they verify their immigration status using a standard called “reasonable suspicion.” This is a lower standard than probable cause, which officers must have to arrest or criminally charge a person.

Some advocates and lawyers have accused federal agents of using reasonable suspicion to racially profile people they detain.

Legal experts, including Thomas A. Saenz, president and general counsel for the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund, have said that is unconstitutional.

“ICE has to follow the rules the same as every other law enforcement,” Saenz said. “Despite this administration somehow asserting that they are some kind of super police, that is not correct.”

McLaughlin, who recently served in the Trump administration, said in a January statement that “allegations that ICE engages in ‘racial profiling’ are disgusting, reckless and categorically FALSE.”

“A person’s immigration status makes them a target for enforcement, not their skin color, race or ethnicity,” she said. “Law enforcement uses ‘reasonable suspicion’ to make arrests, as allowed under the Fourth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.”

What’s your recourse if your rights have been violated?

Alonso-Yoder said that documenting as much evidence as possible when someone is approached by a federal agent is critically important to building a case.

She said people are entitled to file civil lawsuits against Homeland Security or lawsuits under the Federal Tort Claims Act to seek relief and damages, but both options generally result in relatively small monetary damages if successful.

There are resources in Maryland for those seeking more information or help with legal action, including the Immigrant Legal Resource Center and ACLU Maryland.

The ILRC prints “red cards” for people to carry with them that outline their legal rights. Alonso-Yoder recommended that both citizens and noncitizens carry them.