To anonymously report someone to immigration, call the ICE Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Tip Line at 1-866-347-2423 or fill out the online ICE Tip Form at ice.gov. Both channels run 24 hours a day, and neither one asks for your name or contact information.1USAGov. How to Report an Immigration Violation Tips go to HSI, the investigative arm of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
The Two Ways to File a Tip
By phone, dial 1-866-347-2423 (866-DHS-2-ICE) from anywhere in the United States or Canada. From outside North America, the number is 1-802-872-6199. The line is staffed around the clock. Automated prompts sort your call by type of violation before routing you to a representative or a recorded message option.2U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. ICE Tip Line
Online, go to ice.gov/webform/ice-tip-form. The form itself confirms that anonymous tips are accepted. Fill in the details, review them, and submit. A confirmation message appears once the tip reaches HSI.3U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. ICE Tip Form Wait for that screen before closing your browser. A submission that drops partway through may never reach an agent.
What to Have Ready Before You Report
Specific tips move; vague ones get set aside. Before you call or open the form, pull together whatever of the following you actually know:
- The person’s full name, any aliases or nicknames, and date of birth or approximate age.
- A physical description: height, weight, hair color, and any tattoos, scars, or other distinguishing features.
- A location. A precise home address, workplace address, or the exact spot where you observed the activity is far more useful than a neighborhood.
- What you believe is happening: unauthorized entry, a visa overstay, fraudulent documents, or something else.
- Supporting observations such as dates, times, vehicle descriptions, license plate numbers, and patterns you’ve noticed over time.
You do not need every item on that list to file. But a name paired with an address gives agents something to cross-reference against federal databases. A tip that says only “I think my neighbor is undocumented,” with nothing else attached, is nearly impossible to act on.
Reporting an Employer
Tips about businesses that knowingly hire unauthorized workers use the same phone line and web form, but the details agents need are different. Instead of one person, you’re describing a pattern of employer conduct. Include the business name, its physical address, and the type of work being done. A Federal Employer Identification Number from payroll or tax paperwork, if you have access to it, helps agents zero in on the correct entity.
What strengthens an employer tip is repetition rather than a single sighting. Note when shifts start, roughly how many workers appear to be involved, and whether vehicles bring people to and from the site. Descriptions of unsafe conditions or apparent labor exploitation add weight, because they can pull in labor agencies alongside immigration enforcement.
Reporting Suspected Marriage Fraud
The same tip channels apply, but the evidence that matters is different. Adjudicators look for signs that a couple does not actually share a life together: spouses living at separate addresses, no joint bank accounts or shared finances, a very brief courtship before the wedding, family members who were never told about the marriage, and large gaps in what each spouse knows about the other. Direct evidence of payment for the marriage or a written arrangement between the parties is the strongest indicator you can pass along.
What Happens Next
HSI agents triage incoming tips by how specific the information is and how serious the alleged violation appears. Reports involving national security, human trafficking, or public safety get the fastest attention. For other reports, agents cross-reference the details you provided against federal databases to see whether the person is already known to the system or tied to an existing investigation.
Because you filed anonymously, you will not get updates. No case number, no return call, no way to check on progress. You will not learn whether an investigation was opened, an arrest was made, or the tip was set aside as not actionable.1USAGov. How to Report an Immigration Violation If your tip connects to broader criminal activity, ICE may coordinate with other federal or local agencies, but that work happens out of sight.
False Reports Are a Crime
Anonymity does not cover a fabricated tip. Knowingly giving false information to a federal agency is a federal offense, punishable by up to five years in prison and a fine. If the false statement involves terrorism, human trafficking, or sexual exploitation, the maximum climbs to eight years.4Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 1001 – Statements or Entries Generally Federal investigators have tools to trace calls and digital submissions when they suspect a report was filed maliciously. The anonymity protection is there to shield good-faith informants, not to cover a personal grudge. Report what you have actually observed, or have a genuine reason to believe is true.