Internal ICE Memo Claims Power to Forcibly Enter Homes on Administrative Warrants, Clashing With Fourth Amendment Precedent
An internal ICE memo dated May 2025 and signed by Acting Director Todd Lyons asserts that officers may rely on administrative immigration warrants — without a judge‑signed judicial warrant — to enter residences, authorizes the use of the "necessary and reasonable" force after knocking and identifying themselves (operations between 6 a.m. and 10 p.m.), and has been used in training and operationalized in incidents such as a Jan. 11 Minneapolis entry where agents rammed a door. Whistleblowers and legal advocates call the policy a flagrant Fourth Amendment violation and lawmakers including Sen. Richard Blumenthal are demanding hearings, while DHS says affected individuals have due process and that administrative-warrant issuers found probable cause.
📌 Key Facts
- An internal ICE memo dated May 2025 and signed by Acting ICE Director Todd Lyons asserts that ICE may forcibly enter residences relying solely on administrative immigration warrants rather than judge‑signed judicial warrants.
- The memo's legal rationale says the Constitution, the Immigration and Nationality Act, and regulations “do not prohibit” relying solely on administrative warrants for residential entry; DHS spokeswoman Tricia McLaughlin defended the practice saying affected individuals have “full due process and a final order of removal” and that officers issuing the administrative warrants have found probable cause.
- The memo authorizes officers to knock, identify themselves, and — if residents refuse entry — use the “necessary and reasonable amount of force” to enter between 6 a.m. and 10 p.m.; whistleblowers say the memo is being used in training even though it has not been widely distributed inside ICE, according to a complaint shared with Congress.
- Whistleblowers provided the internal memo to outside counsel, which helped bring it to public attention via CBS; advocacy groups and attorneys (including Whistleblower Aid and David Kligerman) have called the policy a “flagrant violation” of the Fourth Amendment and “painfully unlawful.”
- Reporting from AP/ABC/PBS documents the memo being operationalized in some cities: on Jan. 11 in Minneapolis, reporters observed ICE agents in tactical gear ramming a Liberian man’s front door with rifles drawn while relying only on an administrative warrant.
- The memo upends long‑standing community legal advice to refuse entry to ICE without a judge‑signed warrant and directly conflicts with Fourth Amendment precedent and recent rulings — including a 2020 federal decision that found certain ICE “knock and talks” unlawful.
- Sen. Richard Blumenthal has called the policy “terrifying,” is demanding congressional hearings and a formal explanation from DHS Secretary Kristi Noem, and the issue has drawn broader scrutiny from lawmakers and civil‑liberties advocates.
- News reports situate the memo within the broader context of the Trump administration’s mass‑deportation campaign and a nationwide surge in ICE arrests, noting it represents a tactical shift toward expanded home arrests rather than prior reliance on street surveillance.
📰 Source Timeline (5)
Follow how coverage of this story developed over time
January 23, 2026
5:59 PM
Not opening the door to ICE may no longer stop officers
New information:
- AP/ PBS piece provides detailed, on‑the‑ground examples of how the memo is being applied, including ICE agents ramming the front door of a Liberian man’s Minneapolis home on Jan. 11 with only an administrative warrant, rifles drawn.
- The story documents immigrant community practice—built over decades—of refusing to open doors without judge‑signed warrants, and explains how the memo upends this advice.
- It quotes Sen. Richard Blumenthal calling the policy 'terrifying' and demanding congressional hearings and an explanation from DHS Secretary Kristi Noem.
- The article situates the memo within Trump’s broader mass‑deportation campaign and a nationwide surge in ICE arrests, noting how forced home entries would change field tactics that previously relied on waiting outside homes.
- It links directly back to, and builds on, earlier reporting that first revealed the memo, confirming it is now being operationalized in cities like Minneapolis.
6:37 AM
Immigrants often don't open the door to ICE, but that may no longer stop officers
New information:
- Confirms, via AP-obtained internal memo, that ICE leadership is asserting authority to forcibly enter homes without a judge-signed warrant, relying solely on administrative immigration warrants.
- Provides an on-the-ground example from Jan. 11 in Minneapolis where AP reporters witnessed ICE agents in tactical gear ram a Liberian man’s front door with rifles drawn using only an administrative warrant.
- Reports that Sen. Richard Blumenthal is demanding congressional hearings and a formal explanation from DHS Secretary Kristi Noem, calling the policy a terrifying overreach for all Americans.
- Details how this memo upends long-standing legal advice in immigrant communities to refuse entry absent a judicial warrant, and contrasts it with a 2020 federal ruling finding ICE 'knock and talks' unlawful.
- Situates the memo within Trump’s mass-deportation campaign and changed tactics in cities like Minneapolis, including expanded home arrests after years of relying on street surveillance instead.
January 22, 2026
11:55 PM
ICE memo authorizing agents to enter homes without a warrant is "painfully unlawful," attorney says
New information:
- CBS segment features David Kligerman of Whistleblower Aid explicitly calling the ICE memo 'painfully unlawful.'
- The interview clarifies that whistleblowers provided the internal May 2025 memo to outside counsel, which in turn helped bring it to public attention via CBS.
- Kligerman emphasizes, in lay terms for viewers, that the memo authorizes entries without judicial warrants and explains why he believes that flatly contradicts long‑standing Fourth Amendment doctrine.
January 21, 2026
11:11 PM
Internal memo authorizes ICE to enter homes without judicial warrants in some cases
New information:
- Confirms the memo is dated May 2025 and was signed by Acting ICE Director Todd Lyons.
- Quotes the memo’s legal rationale that the Constitution, Immigration and Nationality Act and regulations 'do not prohibit' relying solely on administrative warrants to enter residences.
- Details that officers are authorized to use the 'necessary and reasonable amount of force' to enter if residents refuse entry, after knocking and identifying themselves, and that such operations are to occur between 6 a.m. and 10 p.m.
- Includes DHS spokeswoman Tricia McLaughlin’s defense that affected individuals have 'full due process and a final order of removal' and that officers issuing the administrative warrants have found probable cause.
- Reports that the memo has not been widely distributed inside ICE but is being used in training, according to a whistleblower complaint shared with Congress.
- Whistleblower Aid characterizes the policy as a 'flagrant violation of the Fourth Amendment' and links it to recent reports of ICE breaking into homes of U.S. citizens without judicial warrants.