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An internal memo from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) suggests that agents are authorized to enter the homes of immigrants and citizens alike without a judicial warrant — an assertion that violates the Fourth Amendment and several years of caselaw stating otherwise.
The memo was first made public in a disclosure from whistleblowers within the federal government, with the help of the nonprofit group Whistleblower Aid. According to that organization, the ICE memo, issued in May 2025, authorizes agents “to enter the residence of an alien subject to a final order of deportation, without consent, including by ‘a necessary and reasonable amount of force'” using Form I-205, which is an administrative warrant, not a judicial one.
Judicial warrants authorize searches, seizures, or arrests, and are issued by judges within the judicial branch of government. Administrative warrants, which are issued by ICE or the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), allow seizures or arrests of individuals under certain circumstances, but do not allow for search or entry of a person’s property without their consent.
The extent to which the memo has been shared throughout the agency is unclear, though there are several examples of ICE or other federal immigration officials entering people’s homes without valid judicial warrants, including...
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