AMHERST — At the John P. Musante Health Center, where health services are provided to low-income and immigrant populations and others, exam rooms feature Immigrant Legal Resource Center posters explaining the constitutional rights for everyone living in the United States.

Accompanying these informational posters is a supply of credit-card sized red cards, with information that educates and prepares those who might interact with Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials.

Seeing how the red cards can help protect people and reduce their level of fear, Amherst Health Director Kiko Malin recently appealed for the town to broaden its outreach to those in the community by making the posters and red cards available throughout town.

Malin said the red cards fit with a mission and responsibility of promoting the health and well-being of anyone living in Amherst.

“Immigrant health is a public health issue,” Malin said, adding that people need to feel safe and seek medical help when necessary, and to come for regular checkups.

Also known as “know your rights” cards and tarjetas rojas, the red cards are created by the Immigrant Legal Resource Center, a national nonprofit resource center that provides immigration legal trainings, technical assistance and educational materials. In the first few months the red cards were available, thousands were distributed. Since the November presidential election, though, about 9 million have gone out.

Malin said that should an ICE agent show up on the doorstep of a family’s home, those with the cards can use them as a line of defense. One side of the card reads, in uppercase letters, “do not open the door,” “do not answer any questions,” and “do not sign anything,” while the other side is an outline of what can be said, such as “I do not wish to speak with you, answer your questions or sign or hand you any documents based on my 5th Amendment rights under the United States Constitution.”

The red cards also inform the holder that the door doesn’t have to be opened to an immigration agent, the right to remain silent is guaranteed and that the card can be presented, by sliding it under the door or shown through the window.

With a commitment from Town Manager Paul Bockelman, the town has created small kiosks, with the tables having the official town of Amherst logo and a basket filled with the red cards. These are at the entrances to Town Hall, the Jones Library and the Bangs Community Center and offices of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion and Community Responders for Equity, Safety and Service. The red cards also were brought to the Global Village festival last weekend.

Angela Mills, a community participation officer, coordinated the printing, downloading the information from the Immigrant Legal Resource Center, and then printing the red cards in Korean, Mandarin, Portuguese, Spanish and English, though close to 20 languages are available.

In a town with a bylaw that prohibits town employees from participating in federal immigration enforcement activities, Bockelman said it made sense to support the initiative.

“This reinforces who we are as a community,” Bockelman said.

Center for New Americans Executive Director Laurie Millman said the red cards are widely available and that she and staff members often carry them.

In addition, Millman said the red cards are also in wide use by the Massachusetts Immigrant and Refugee Advocacy Coalition, the American Civil Liberties Union and most immigrant serving organizations.

“It is great that the town of Amherst is doing this,” Millman said.

While only anecdotal, Mills said she has heard from some residents who have picked up the cards at a kiosk, and then given them to neighbors, who appreciate they will better understand their rights and feel more comfortable going out and about.

Scott Merzbach can be reached at smerzbach@gazettenet.com.