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Two anonymous whistleblowers disclosed to the U.S. Senate that DHS had authorized and trained ICE agents to forcibly enter homes without judicial warrants, based on a secret memo issued by Acting ICE Director Todd Lyons on May 12, 2025. The memo authorizes ICE agents to use administrative warrants of removal (Form I-205) to forcibly enter private residences after knocking and announcing their presence, fundamentally contradicting Fourth Amendment protections requiring judicial authorization for home searches.
The memo acknowledged that DHS "has not historically relied on administrative warrants alone" for forced home entries, but claimed the DHS Office of General Counsel "recently determined" that the Constitution does not prohibit this practice. This directly conflicts with ICE's own basic training materials, which explicitly state that "a warrant of removal/deportation does NOT alone authorize a 4th amendment search of any kind." No court has ever found that ICE agents have legal authority to enter homes without judicial warrants.
The memo was distributed secretly, with only select DHS officials permitted to review it, most not allowed to retain copies. Recipients were verbally briefed on the policy and at least one was implicitly threatened with retaliation for objecting. Whistleblower Aid Senior Counsel David Kligerman stated the policy represents a "flagrant violation of the Fourth Amendment." Senator Richard Blumenthal opened an investigation, demanding answers from Lyons and DHS Secretary Noem. The Greater Boston Latino Network and Brazilian Worker Center filed suit challenging the memo's constitutionality.