On January 21, 2026, The Associated Press published an internal Immigration and Customs Enforcement (“ICE”) memorandum (“Memo”) claiming that ICE officers may enter private residences to conduct immigration arrests without judicial warrants.
The Memo, signed in May 2025 by Acting ICE Director Todd Lyons, asserts that administrative warrants (Form I-205 Warrants) may be relied upon as a basis to enter a place of residence and conduct immigration arrests. Notably, administrative warrants may be issued by ICE agents directly and are not issued or approved by federal district court or magistrate judges. An ICE administrative warrant must be supported by a final order of removal issued by an immigration judge (also a member of the executive branch, not a federal district court or magistrate judge). The Memo instructs ICE officers to knock and announce and “use only a necessary and reasonable amount of force to enter” if admittance is refused.
This policy departs from past practice and raises significant constitutional and legal questions. Historically, administrative warrants were limited to supporting arrests in public places, and only warrants issued by a “neutral and detached magistrate” (a judicial warrant) could authorize ICE agents to enter nonpublic areas like residences. The memorandum itself acknowledges that the Department of Homeland Security (“DHS”) “has not historically relied on administrative warrants alone” for this purpose, but states that DHS’s Office of General Counsel has “recently determined that the U.S. Constitution, the Immigration and Nationality Act, and the immigration regulations do not prohibit relying on administrative warrants for this purpose.” The Memo does recognize at least some constitutional and policy- or practice-based limitations to its position, but it is not clear whether and how even those acknowledged limitations are applied in practice.
This Memo was made public through a whistleblower complaint brought by two anonymous U.S. officials. According to that complaint, the Memo has not been formally distributed to all personnel—although it is addressed to “All ICE Personnel”—but rather apparently has been provided to select DHS officials who were then directed to verbally brief on the policy when training others.
