Trump's fresh deportation push: ICE told it can break into homes without judge’s warrant
The directive authorises ICE officers to use force to enter a residence solely on the basis of an administrative warrant when arresting someone with a final order of removal.
- Feb 2, 2026,
- Updated Feb 2, 2026 12:27 PM IST
Federal immigration officers are being instructed that they can forcibly enter people’s homes without a judge’s warrant, according to an internal Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) memo, a shift that breaks from longstanding guidance built around constitutional limits on government searches, according to The Associated Press.
The directive authorises ICE officers to use force to enter a residence solely on the basis of an administrative warrant when arresting someone with a final order of removal. Advocates say the move clashes with Fourth Amendment protections and undercuts years of advice given to immigrant communities to keep their doors shut unless officers present a warrant signed by a judge.
The policy change comes as the Trump administration expands immigration arrests nationwide, deploying thousands of officers as part of a mass deportation campaign that is reshaping enforcement tactics in several cities, including Minneapolis.
For years, immigrant advocates, legal aid groups and local governments have urged residents not to open the door to immigration agents unless they are shown a judicial warrant. That guidance is rooted in Supreme Court rulings that generally bar law enforcement from entering a home without judicial approval. The ICE memo reverses that understanding at a moment when arrests are accelerating.
The memo has not been widely shared inside the agency, according to a whistleblower complaint. However, its contents have reportedly been used to train new ICE officers being deployed into cities and towns to implement the administration’s immigration crackdown. The whistleblower disclosure alleges that officers still in training are being told to follow the memo’s guidance even when written training materials contradict it.
It remains unclear how broadly the directive has been applied. According to the Associated Press, ICE officers rammed through the front door of the home of a Liberian man, Garrison Gibson, with a deportation order from 2023 in Minneapolis on Jan. 11. Officers were wearing heavy tactical gear and had rifles drawn. Documents reviewed by the AP showed agents had only an administrative warrant, meaning no judge authorised the raid on private property.
Homeland Security spokeswoman Tricia McLaughlin told the AP that everyone served with an administrative warrant has already had “full due process and a final order of removal.” She added that officers issuing those warrants have found probable cause for arrest, and said the Supreme Court and Congress have “recognised the propriety of administrative warrants in cases of immigration enforcement.”
The memo says officers should first knock, identify themselves and explain why they are there. It limits entry to between 6 a.m. and 10 p.m., and says people inside must be given a “reasonable chance to act lawfully.” But if the person refuses entry, it states: “Should the alien refuse admittance, ICE officers and agents should use only a necessary and reasonable amount of force to enter the alien’s residence, following proper notification of the officer or agent’s authority and intent to enter.”
Federal immigration officers are being instructed that they can forcibly enter people’s homes without a judge’s warrant, according to an internal Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) memo, a shift that breaks from longstanding guidance built around constitutional limits on government searches, according to The Associated Press.
The directive authorises ICE officers to use force to enter a residence solely on the basis of an administrative warrant when arresting someone with a final order of removal. Advocates say the move clashes with Fourth Amendment protections and undercuts years of advice given to immigrant communities to keep their doors shut unless officers present a warrant signed by a judge.
The policy change comes as the Trump administration expands immigration arrests nationwide, deploying thousands of officers as part of a mass deportation campaign that is reshaping enforcement tactics in several cities, including Minneapolis.
For years, immigrant advocates, legal aid groups and local governments have urged residents not to open the door to immigration agents unless they are shown a judicial warrant. That guidance is rooted in Supreme Court rulings that generally bar law enforcement from entering a home without judicial approval. The ICE memo reverses that understanding at a moment when arrests are accelerating.
The memo has not been widely shared inside the agency, according to a whistleblower complaint. However, its contents have reportedly been used to train new ICE officers being deployed into cities and towns to implement the administration’s immigration crackdown. The whistleblower disclosure alleges that officers still in training are being told to follow the memo’s guidance even when written training materials contradict it.
It remains unclear how broadly the directive has been applied. According to the Associated Press, ICE officers rammed through the front door of the home of a Liberian man, Garrison Gibson, with a deportation order from 2023 in Minneapolis on Jan. 11. Officers were wearing heavy tactical gear and had rifles drawn. Documents reviewed by the AP showed agents had only an administrative warrant, meaning no judge authorised the raid on private property.
Homeland Security spokeswoman Tricia McLaughlin told the AP that everyone served with an administrative warrant has already had “full due process and a final order of removal.” She added that officers issuing those warrants have found probable cause for arrest, and said the Supreme Court and Congress have “recognised the propriety of administrative warrants in cases of immigration enforcement.”
The memo says officers should first knock, identify themselves and explain why they are there. It limits entry to between 6 a.m. and 10 p.m., and says people inside must be given a “reasonable chance to act lawfully.” But if the person refuses entry, it states: “Should the alien refuse admittance, ICE officers and agents should use only a necessary and reasonable amount of force to enter the alien’s residence, following proper notification of the officer or agent’s authority and intent to enter.”