WASHINGTON D.C. — Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents have been granted sweeping authority to forcibly enter people's homes without warrants signed by judges, according to a leaked memo obtained by Congress.
The memo, from May 12, 2025, leaked by a whistleblower group to Congress this week, authorizes supervisory immigration officers to issue administrative warrants for the arrest of an “alien with a final order of removal.”
These administrative warrants are essentially internal orders for removal from the Department of Homeland Security or an ICE agent.
The memo states “although the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has not historically relied on administrative warrants alone to arrest aliens subject to final orders of removal in their place of residence, the DHS Office of the General Counsel has recently determined that the U.S. Constitution, the Immigration and Nationality Act and the Immigration regulations do not prohibit relying on administration warrants for this purpose.”
National Politics
Immigration officers assert sweeping power to enter homes without a judge's warrant, memo says
University of Denver law professor Ian Farrell said these administrative warrants are not constitutionally valid, like those issued by judges to search someone's home without their consent.
"When they say 'warrant,' they mean an authorization by either a judge or magistrate, and therefore administrative warrants that are essentially internal memoranda within ICE do not satisfy that requirement," Farrell said.
Farrell said the Fourth Amendment protects anyone in the United States, regardless of their citizenship status, from unreasonable searches and seizures.
“Absent an emergency, absent consent by the homeowner, that is a violation of a person's Fourth Amendment rights, and they can sue,” Farrell said.
DHS Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs Tricia McLaughlin told ABC News that "Every illegal alien who DHS serves administrative warrants have had full due process and a final order of removal from an immigration judge. The officers issuing these administrative warrants also have found probable cause."
The revelation comes as the Trump administration drastically expands immigration enforcement operations nationwide.
