Warrantless DHS Home Invasions

The Fourth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution states the following:

The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.

However, the leaked ICE Memo (dated May 12, 2025, from Acting ICE Director Todd Lyons) purports to allow ICE agents to use administratively issued warrants in place of judicial warrants to invade anyone's home. While the Fourth Amendment specifically bars such home invasions without a judicial warrant (or exigent circumstances or consent), the Memo asserts that "the DHS Office of the General Counsel has recently determined that the U.S. Constitution, the Immigration and Nationality Act, and the immigration regulations do not prohibit relying on administrative warrants for" the purpose of "arrest[ing] aliens subject to final orders of removal in their place of residence."

ICE has operationally acted on this Memo to support unconstitutional home invasions. And, the home invasions have already harmed American citizens. According to the Associated Press, ChongLy Thao's house was unlawfully invaded, and he was dragged out of his house in his underwear.

Until this redcoatish policy shift, immigration lawyers have urged people to keep their doors locked and not to answer the door unless ICE presented a properly executed judicial warrant. That is because the Fourth Amendment explicitly bans such invasions in light of what occurred during England's time as the sovereign in America.

What are some solutions? A federal, Article III court could issue an injunction forbidding ICE from such activity if presented with a case dealing with such an unlawful home invasion. (See Kidd v. Mayorkas, 734 F. Supp. 3d 967 (2024) (holding that the Fourth Amendment "require[s] a judicial warrant to enter a home or its curtilage."). Another solution would be for Congress to actually oversee the agencies and executive branch officers behind this latest assay. Of course, the Declaration of Independence lays out the reasons the United States now exists.