ICE Memo Authorizes Warrantless Home Entries Using Administrative Forms

Acting ICE Director Todd Lyons issued a May 12 memo directing officers to use Form I-205 administrative warrants to enter residences and arrest people with final removal orders, according to whistleblowers who shared the document with Sen. Richard Blumenthal.

The directive departs from longstanding DHS and ICE policy that required judicial warrants for forced entries, a shift that coincides with an expanded deportation campaign and a hiring surge that more than doubled ICE's enforcement staff.

Department of Homeland Security spokeswoman Tricia McLaughlin confirmed DHS is using administrative warrants in some entries and said those served have had "full due process," while civil liberties groups and legal scholars contend the practice violates the Fourth Amendment.

Reports and court records show agents forcibly entered homes, including a Jan. 11 Minneapolis raid and a Jan. 18 incident involving ChongLy Thao, where relatives said no judicial warrant was shown, and at least one federal judge has barred such entries in the Central District of California.

Congressional demands for hearings from Sen. Richard Blumenthal and expected litigation are likely, and DHS and ICE face pending legal challenges and possible court orders that could restrict or block the memo's implementation.