Kathrine Frich
Immigration enforcement in the United States has long operated under strict constitutional limits.
Those boundaries are now being questioned as new internal guidance surfaces.
A previously undisclosed document is raising alarms among lawmakers, advocates and legal experts, who say it signals a fundamental change in how federal agents approach private homes.
What ice is
Immigration and Customs Enforcement, known as ICE, is a federal agency within the Department of Homeland Security responsible for enforcing immigration laws, including arrests and deportations.
Its officers typically rely on administrative warrants issued by immigration authorities, while judicial warrants signed by judges have been required to enter private residences without consent.
For years, immigrant communities have been advised not to open their doors unless agents present a judge-signed warrant, guidance rooted in Supreme Court precedent.
Memo reveals shift
According to The Associated Press, an internal ICE memo authorizes officers to forcibly enter homes using only an administrative warrant if a person has a final order of removal.
The memo, signed by acting ICE Director Todd Lyons in May 2025, states that DHS lawyers concluded existing law does not bar this practice, despite past agency policy.
Advocates say the directive directly conflicts with Fourth Amendment protections and overturns years of official guidance.
Political backlash grows
Democrats quickly condemned the policy. Sen. Richard Blumenthal called for Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and Lyons to testify, describing the memo as a threat to constitutional rights.
“Every American should be terrified by this secret ICE policy authorizing its agents to kick down your door and storm into your home,” Blumenthal said in a news release.
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz labeled the directive an “assault on freedom and privacy.”
Whistleblower account
Whistleblower Aid told the AP it represents two anonymous government officials who disclosed what it called a “secretive – and seemingly unconstitutional – policy directive.”
The group said the memo has been used to train new ICE officers, even though written training materials still emphasize judicial warrants.
The document was shared only with select officials, and some employees were required to return it after reading, the disclosure said.
Enforcement in practice
The Associated Press reported witnessing ICE officers force entry into a Minneapolis home in January using only an administrative warrant.
Homeland Security spokeswoman Tricia McLaughlin told the AP that those targeted already received “full due process and a final order of removal,” adding that administrative warrants are recognized in immigration enforcement.
Legal challenges are expected as arrests accelerate under the administration’s expanded deportation campaign.
Sources: Associated Press, CNN.
