ICE asserts power to forcibly enter homes without judicial warrants in internal memo

By Alvin Wu
Domestic Affairs
ICE asserts power to forcibly enter homes without judicial warrants in internal memo

A business in Minneapolis displays a sign requiring a judicial warrant for entry into non-public spaces in January 2026. CHAD DAVIS PHOTOGRAPHY/Chad Davis (https://chaddavis.photography/business-requiring-judicial-warrant-minneapolis/)

WASHINGTON, Jan. 22 (ZFJ) — U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is asserting the power to forcibly enter homes without a judicial warrant, per a whistleblower disclosure released Wednesday, Jan. 21.

In an internal memo dated May 12, 2025, Acting ICE Director Todd Lyons authorizes ICE officers to use the Form I-205 “Warrant of Removal/Deportation” administrative immigration warrant to enter homes to execute arrests.

Form I-205 warrants are issued by immigration officers, who are part of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and thus part of the executive branch. In contrast, judicial warrants are issued based on probable cause by judges or magistrates that are part of the judicial branch.

The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.

— Fourth Amendment, U.S. Constitution

Longstanding legal precedent and the Fourth Amendment require a warrant allowing forced entry to be reviewed by a judge or magistrate to protect Americans from “unreasonable searches and seizures” by law enforcement officers. DHS has not previously relied on I-205 warrants in this way.

The new guidance, approved by the DHS Office of the General Counsel, instructs ICE officers that the Form I-205, along with a final order of removal from an immigration judge or judicial officer, is sufficient to establish probable cause to enter a residence believed to belong to the target person for arrest.

Immigration judges are part of the Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR), which, as part of the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), is under the executive branch. Trump has flexed his power to fire immigration judges at will.

The policy goes on to tell ICE officers to “knock and announce” to identify themselves and the reason for their presence before “allow[ing] those inside the residence a reasonable chance to act lawfully.” Should the residents not open the door, officers are told that they can forcibly enter, after which they can arrest the target and “conduct a limited search of the immediate area to ensure officer safety.”

Detailing some restrictions, the memo says officers “generally” should not enter a residence before 6:00 a.m. or after 10:00 p.m. It also blocks officers from entering homes without a judicial warrant in the Central District of California due to a standing district court decision explicitly requiring judicial warrants to enter homes.

The memo’s guidance directly contradicts written DHS training material, which states that the Form I-205 “does NOT alone authorize a 4th Amendment search of any kind.” Forced home entry would constitute a search. The whistleblowers indicate that newly-hired ICE officers have been verbally trained in line with the memo.

While the memo is directed to “All ICE Personnel,” access to the document has been strictly controlled, according to Whistleblower Aid, the organization that coordinated the disclosure. Only select DHS and ICE officials received the memo. One of the whistleblowers viewed the document while monitored by a supervisor and was prohibited from taking notes.

One whistleblower says that ICE officers in the Fifth Circuit, which includes Texas, have started to rely on the Form I-205 to arrest people in their residences without judicial warrants. This judicial district was selected as it was deemed more sympathetic to Trump’s mass deportation campaign in the event that someone attempted to contest their arrest in court.

ICE officers have been documented entering homes without judicial warrants in Minneapolis to arrest a Liberian man and St. Paul, Minnesota, to arrest a Hmong man who is a U.S. citizen as part of Operation Metro Surge.

ICE officers raid the home of Garrison Gibson, a Liberian man, in Minneapolis. AP/Video 　

ICE officers arrest ChongLy “Scott” Thao, a U.S. citizen, in St. Paul, Minnesota, taking him outside in his underwear. AP/Video 　

Whistleblower Aid submitted the disclosure to the U.S. Senate and is pushing for a congressional investigation of the ICE policy.

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