Federal immigration officers are now claiming the authority to forcibly enter homes without a judge's warrant, according to an internal memo from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) obtained by the Associated Press. This policy represents a significant shift from previous guidelines aimed at safeguarding constitutional protections against unwarranted searches.
The memo asserts that ICE officers can enter residences based purely on an administrative warrant to arrest individuals with a final order of removal. Advocacy groups caution that this undermines Fourth Amendment rights and disrupts guidance previously provided to immigrant communities.
The new directive is emerging amidst an increase in immigration arrests across the nation, with aggressive enforcement actions already observed in cities like Minneapolis. For several years, advocates have advised immigrant individuals to deny entry to ICE agents unless a judge signed the warrant, a precaution now undercut by the new policy.
Accounts from whistleblower complaints suggest that the memo has yet to be broadly disseminated within ICE, but training for new officers is reportedly based on this directive. While arrests under this policy have not yet been systematically documented, incidents have raised alarms, including an instance where ICE agents used force to enter a Minneapolis home during a recent arrest.
Critics are expressing fears that this policy could lead to significant legal challenges and backlash from local governments and immigrant advocacy groups. The memo, dated May 12, 2025, is signed by acting ICE director Todd Lyons and affirms that reliance on administrative warrants could constitutionally support entering a residence for arrests.
Spokespersons for the Department of Homeland Security maintain that individuals arrested under these warrants have already undergone full due process. However, without clarity on the frequency of such operations, and given the memo's implications, the potential for violation of legal standards remains high.
As legal challenges loom, immigration advocates are preparing to contest the directive, emphasizing that established Fourth Amendment rights against unreasonable search and seizure remain paramount.
