ICE Memo Authorizes Home Entries With Administrative Warrants
A May 12, 2025 memo signed by Acting ICE Director Todd Lyons directs agents to use administrative I-205 warrants to force entry into residences.
Overview
Acting ICE Director Todd Lyons signed a May 12, 2025 memo authorizing agents to use administrative Form I-205 warrants to forcibly enter residences to arrest people with final orders of removal, whistleblowers and a copy of the memo show.
The directive departs from a 2021 ICE training guide and longstanding Department of Homeland Security practice that a warrant of removal does not alone authorize a Fourth Amendment home search, legal experts and the whistleblower complaint said.
Marcos Charles, executive associate director of ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations, said on Jan. 22 that agents may enter homes with administrative arrest warrants and that courts have deemed such warrants justified for immigration purposes, according to a news conference transcript.
Two whistleblowers provided the May 12, 2025 memo to Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., and officials said the policy has been referenced in training and implemented in operations including June 6 Los Angeles briefings by acting deputy director Charlie Wall and observed entries in Minneapolis on Jan. 11 and Jan. 18.
Civil-rights groups and scholars including Ric Simmons and Lindsay Nash said the memo likely violates the Fourth Amendment and vowed legal challenges, and Sen. Richard Blumenthal has demanded congressional hearings, signaling parallel judicial and legislative battles ahead.
Analysis
Center-leaning sources collectively frame the story as a legally and ethically fraught policy shift by foregrounding whistleblower documents, civil‑liberties reactions, and protest coverage. Editorial choices—prominent placement of the internal memo, emphasis on constitutional risk, and highlighting ACLU and whistleblower quotes (source content)—create a skeptical narrative while DHS comments are downplayed.
Sources (10)
FAQ
An administrative Form I-205 warrant is an internal document issued by ICE without judicial oversight, authorizing arrest of noncitizens with final removal orders, unlike judicial warrants which require a judge's approval based on probable cause.
The memo, signed by Acting ICE Director Todd Lyons, authorizes ICE agents to forcibly enter residences using Form I-205 administrative warrants after knocking and announcing, to arrest individuals with final removal orders.
It reverses longstanding DHS practice and 2021 ICE training that administrative removal warrants do not authorize Fourth Amendment home searches or entries without judicial warrants.
Civil-rights groups, legal experts like Professor Orin Kerr, and scholars argue it violates the Fourth Amendment, as Supreme Court precedent requires judicial warrants signed by a neutral magistrate for home entries.
Whistleblowers provided it to Sen. Richard Blumenthal, who demands congressional hearings; it's been used in trainings and operations, prompting vows of legal challenges from civil-rights groups.
History
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