type: timeline_event
Two anonymous ICE employees disclosed to Congress an internal DHS memo by acting ICE head Todd Lyons authorizing immigration agents to forcibly enter homes using only administrative warrants signed by ICE officials, bypassing the constitutional requirement for judicial warrants. The Associated Press first reported on the whistleblower disclosure, revealing a sharp reversal of decades of guidance meant to respect Fourth Amendment limits on government searches.
The memo, issued in May 2025 but kept secret until the whistleblower disclosure, states officers can forcibly enter homes to arrest immigrants with final removal orders using solely administrative paperwork. Officers must knock, identify themselves, and allow a "reasonable chance to act lawfully" between 6 a.m. and 10 p.m.—but if residents don't comply, agents can use force to enter. The whistleblowers reported that agents in Texas had already begun implementing the policy and training new recruits accordingly, though the memo was not widely shared within the agency.
Stanford law professor Orin Kerr stated: "The government's not allowed to come into your home unless you give them permission without a warrant," predicting courts would find the policy unconstitutional. Vice President JD Vance defended the policy, arguing administrative warrants are "different types of warrants that exist in our system."
Senator Richard Blumenthal demanded DHS Secretary Kristi Noem explain the policy and called for congressional hearings, stating: "Every American should be terrified by this secret ICE policy authorizing its agents to kick down your door and storm into your home." The revelation came days after a federal judge ruled that ICE violated the Fourth Amendment rights of Garrison Gibson, a Liberian man whose Minneapolis home agents entered with a battering ram using only administrative paperwork.