The U.S. Department of Homeland Security has authorized immigration agents to enter the homes of certain noncitizens and make arrests without the kind of warrant mandated by the Fourth Amendment.
A secret Immigration and Customs Enforcement memo authorized agents “to forcibly enter into certain people’s homes without a judicial warrant, consent or an emergency,” according to a whistleblower report of the memo, both of which were obtained by the Associated Press.
Todd Lyons
The memo from acting ICE Director Todd Lyons instructs agents instead to rely on administrative warrants to force their way into people’s homes during immigration raids.
“It appears that the acting ICE director has authorized the very conduct that DHS in 2025 legal training materials (citing Supreme Court precedent) has called ‘the chief evil against which the wording of the Fourth Amendment is directed’ — ‘physical entry of the home’ without consent or a proper warrant,” according to two whistleblowers represented by Whistleblower Aid.
Judicial warrants are signed court orders enabling law enforcement to conduct searches, confiscate property and enter residences and other private spaces. Obtaining warrants from a judge usually requires authorities to demonstrate probable cause that a suspect or wanted criminal is on the premises.
But ICE agents have been cleared to use administrative warrants signed only by an agency official, Whistleblower Aid explained. “In fact, our client at DHS understands that instructors at the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center are directed to verbally train all new ICE agents to follow this policy while disregarding written course material instructing the opposite. Potentially, scores of ICE agents will be emboldened to unlawfully enter private residences, which include the private residences of U.S. citizens.”
The American Immigration Council expressed grave concerns about the practice in a January report.
“This country was founded, in part, in response to British officers entering the homes of American colonists without sufficient oversight.”
“ICE’s new position is remarkable,” the organization said. “This country was founded, in part, in response to British officers entering the homes of American colonists without sufficient oversight. The Fourth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution guarantees ‘the right of the people to be secure in their … houses’ and prohibits — except in the case of an emergency — entry without a ‘warrant.’”
A 1971 U.S. Supreme Court ruling established that such warrants were to be signed by “neutral and detached” magistrates, the council noted. “The point of the Fourth Amendment, the justices explained, is to make sure that an impartial party considers the evidence before a warrant issues. Allowing law enforcement officers to make their own decisions about when they can knock down your door ‘would reduce the amendment to a nullity and leave the people’s homes secure only in the discretion of police officers.’”
But the new directive remained a secret until the whistleblowers sent a letter to Congress earlier this year not only revealing the policy but also the extraordinary efforts to keep it secret, the council explained.
“Senior ICE officials have refused to distribute physical copies of the memo even within ICE. They have provided only oral instructions to ICE agents, rather than altering written training materials. The memo itself does not explain the legal justification for the new policy. Another memo from the DHS Office of Legal Counsel remains secret and may very well avoid public scrutiny under the Freedom of Information Act.”
The report said it is unknown how often ICE has used administrative warrants to force entry into homes: “The May memo represents just one more striking example of ICE’s efforts to expand its power and avoid judicial oversight. It is one that threatens not only noncitizens, but the people they live with — including U.S. citizen children, spouses, parents and neighbors.”
Lawyers for Civil Rights filed a lawsuit to challenge the policy on behalf of the Greater Boston Latino Network and Brazilian Worker Center.
“We will not stand by while ICE engages in unlawful and dangerous practices. We will not be intimidated by fear tactics targeting our neighbors,” said Alexandra Oliver-Dávila, steering committee member with the Boston Latino organization.
The ICE policy is a threat to families, children and entire communities, said Lenita Reason, executive director of the worker group.
“When the federal government and immigration officials claim the power to break down doors to invade private homes without judicial approval, no one is safe. This policy is especially dangerous for our members because many have already provided their home addresses while pursuing asylum or other immigration relief. Now ICE is using that information to target them at home.”
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