The Trump administration’s Department of Homeland Security is claiming a sweeping new power for Immigration and Customs Enforcement: the ability to force entry into private homes without a judicial warrant, relying instead on internal administrative paperwork. The shift, revealed through internal guidance and confirmed by multiple news outlets, is already drawing sharp warnings from civil liberties advocates who say it guts long-standing Fourth Amendment protections.
An internal ICE memo obtained by the Associated Press says agents may enter residences using administrative warrants —documents signed by immigration officials, not judges—when targeting people. For decades, forced entry into a home has generally required a judicial warrant signed by a judge. The new guidance discards that standard, effectively letting ICE act as its own judge when deciding whether to break down a door.
The policy isn’t theoretical. AP reporters witnessed ICE agents in Minneapolis force their way into a home with weapons drawn while executing an arrest based on an administrative warrant. No judge had signed off on the entry. The raid came amid a broader surge of federal immigration enforcement in Minnesota that has already sparked public outrage and legal scrutiny.
NBC News separately confirmed the memo’s existence and scope, reporting that ICE leadership has told officers they can enter homes without a judicial warrant if they believe the person inside is subject to a final removal order. Legal experts quoted by NBC said the guidance runs headlong into Supreme Court precedent that treats the home as the most protected space under the Constitution.
Forbes also reported on the memo. Civil liberties lawyers warned the outlet that relying on such memo to justify home raids invites abuse and legal chaos.
Progressive outlet Common Dreams went further, describing the memo as a radical expansion of executive power that allows immigration agents to sidestep the courts entirely. Advocates quoted in the report said the policy creates a dangerous precedent in which federal agencies can unilaterally redefine constitutional limits through internal memos.
Local reporting in Minnesota has echoed those concerns. MPR News, citing the AP’s findings, reported that state and local officials were caught off guard by the change and are bracing for legal battles as ICE operations intensify. Community groups warned that the policy will discourage immigrants—and even U.S. citizens—from answering their doors, fearing agents who no longer need a judge’s permission to enter.
DHS officials have defended the approach by pointing to existing removal orders, but critics say that misses the point. The Constitution doesn’t hinge on whether ICE believes it has the right person—it hinges on whether a neutral judge authorizes entry into a home.
For now, Trump’s DHS is standing by the policy, effectively daring the courts to stop it. Lawsuits are already looming, and legal experts say it may take years for the judiciary to sort out whether ICE can truly rewrite the rules of home searches on its own.
