House Democrats demand DHS scrap memo allowing warrantless entry of homes
Source: Courthouse News Service
February 3, 2026
WASHINGTON (CN) — House Democrats on Monday demanded the Department of Homeland Security rescind a controversial directive allowing federal immigration agents to forcibly enter people’s homes without a signed warrant from a judge, following the leak of a memorandum detailing the agency’s broad assertion of law enforcement authority. Lawmakers say the memo took “a battering ram” to the Constitution and the Fourth Amendment’s protections against unreasonable search and seizure — and pushed back on the Trump administration’s claims that non-U.S. citizens are not subject to those rights.
Homeland Security came under the congressional microscope last month amid the immigration blitz in Minnesota, which saw federal agents conducting aggressive enforcement operations across the state. In Minneapolis, the agency’s campaign resulted in the deaths of two U.S. citizens, both shot and killed by federal officers.
Amid the heightened scrutiny, whistleblowers leaked to Congress a May 2025 memo from Homeland Security, signed by acting U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement director Todd Lyons, which authorized federal agents to forcibly enter homes without a judicial warrant. The directive appears to run counter to longstanding Supreme Court precedent which bars law enforcement from carrying out such searches without a warrant from a neutral judge.
Instead, the memo permits agents to enter homes if they acquire an administrative warrant, an authorization issued by Homeland Security itself and often signed by an immigration judge or immigration officer. The agency directive generated controversy among immigration advocacy groups and legal aid organizations, which have long advised that an administrative warrant does not authorize a search and that people should not open their doors for federal agents without a signed judicial warrant.
Read more: https://courthousenews.com/house-democrats-demand-dhs-scrap-memo-allowing-warrantless-entry-of-homes/
Link to House Judiciary Committee Democrats PRESS RELEASE - Judiciary Democrats Demand DHS and ICE Rescind Memo Authorizing Warrantless Home Raids
Link to LETTER (inquiry) (PDF) - https://democrats-judiciary.house.gov/sites/evo-subsites/democrats-judiciary.house.gov/files/evo-media-document/2026-02-02.raskin-et-al-to-noem-dhs-lyons-ice-re-fourth-amendment.pdf
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