Absolutely. Under normal circumstances, the full version of the guidelines is:
- Go to the door, walk outside to speak with them without giving time for them to step in and absolutely without inviting them inside, and close the door behind you.
- You do have to identify yourself, with a physical ID or with name and birthdate. It can be a crime to refuse under certain circumstances and unless you are crystal clear on the law it's probably a better idea to ID yourself rather than give them a reason to arrest you.
- Cooperate if they want to arrest you or they serve you with a signed search warrant. Arguing or resisting will do absolutely nothing to prevent them from violating your rights, if you believe they are violating your rights, but it will get you some additional charges which can be pretty serious. If they say they need to pat you down for weapons, or announce that they are searching your car, make it clear that you don't consent, but don't try to physically prevent them from doing it, because that is a crime.
- As far as any questions or searches outside of those specific areas, it is always Shut The Fuck Up Friday. Answer absolutely nothing. Agree to absolutely no searches. Say that if they're here for a criminal investigation, you will only speak to them through legal counsel and ask if you're free to go. They will start with harmless questions, they will be friendly a lot of the time, they will sound reasonable. Ask if you're free to go. Repeat that you have nothing to say. Be polite but firm, be patient, and shut the fuck up. Leave as soon as they tell you you're free to go, but otherwise just be chill and don't say shit in response to whatever they have.
- If they do arrest you they may make it sound like a good idea to speak with them, because it will help you. It will not. It will help them build their case, that is literally the only possible reason they might give a shit about spending time with you. Anything that is actually advantageous about talking with them will still be advantageous after you've talked with a lawyer. Again, be polite, but shut the fuck up whatever they say or however they manage to make it sound.
That is all advice for the before times, sometimes it is wrong now. ICE in particular has a habit at this point of just giving up and going away if people don't come outside, and snatching them if they do come outside. It's hard to give advice in general, but I would say that if it's feds at this point, or if your local law enforcement is friendly with ICE, just pretend you're not home and just wait for them to bust down the door if that's what they're planning to do. They will either do that or something like it, or they will leave. Might be a good idea to put your phone on silent and text some people you know letting them know what's happening, too.
The only exception I can think of to this is if they threaten to send the K9 in, if you don't come to the door, and you may get bit. Are they bluffing? I don't know, man. Use your best judgement.
And of course, maybe it's a good idea now to make a bunch of noise, get your neighbors involved, keep the door locked, intimidate them back. There are so many scenarios that it's really just hard to say.
Anyway, if they do bust the door in (or pull you out of the car or whatever), it's a good time to practice your shut the fuck up skills. Don't say you were sleeping. Don't say you were in the back and didn't hear anything. Don't say you didn't answer the door because fuck you blah blah blah constitution. Just shut the fuck up. Why didn't you answer the door? "I've got nothing to say sir." Didn't you hear us? "I'll only answer questions with legal counsel." We were out there for a while though. You must have heard us. "Like I said, I've got nothing to say, sir." And so on.
Like I say things are changing. This is just generic advice. Things now are getting unstable.