ICE Authorizes Forced Home Entries Using Administrative Warrants

The United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is utilizing a May 12, 2025, internal memo to authorize agents to forcibly enter private residences without a judicial warrant. Signed by Acting Director Todd Lyons, the directive allows officers to use Form I-205—an administrative warrant signed by executive officials rather than a judge—to arrest individuals with final orders of removal. The policy permits the use of a necessary and reasonable amount of force to enter homes between 6 a.m. and 10 p.m. if occupants refuse admittance.

This shift marks a reversal of 2021 guidance and coincides with a mass deportation campaign led by President Donald Trump. The policy was revealed through whistleblowers and documented by the Associated Press on January 11, 2026, when agents used a battering ram to enter a home in Minneapolis. Reports indicate the tactic has been deployed in Texas, Los Angeles, Chicago, and Portland, and is being used to train new recruits at the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center in Georgia, despite contradicting written manuals.

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security defended the legality of the move, asserting that targeted individuals have already received full due process. Vice President JD Vance and Speaker Mike Johnson supported the administrative process. Conversely, Democratic lawmakers, including Senator Richard Blumenthal and Governor Tim Walz, condemned the policy as an assault on privacy. Legal experts and former federal judge John E. Jones III argue the directive violates the Fourth Amendment by bypassing the requirement for a neutral judicial arbiter to establish probable cause.