Washington DC - A newly revealed memo authorizes US Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents to force entry into people's homes without a judicial warrant.

An internal ICE memo obtained by the Associated Press gives agents the green light to enter homes with an administrative warrant known as an I-205 – not one signed by a judge.

"Although the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has not historically relied on administrative warrants alone to arrest aliens subject to final orders of removal in their place of residence, the DHS Office of the General Counsel has recently determined that the US Constitution, the Immigration and Nationality Act, and the immigration regulations do not prohibit relying on administrative warrants for this purpose," reads the May 12, 2025, memo signed by ICE's Acting Director Todd Lyons.

Before entering a home, the agents are required to "knock and announce" and "allow those inside the residence a reasonable chance to act lawfully," the memo states.

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"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's or agent's authority and intent to enter."

The whistleblower complaint says new ICE agents are being verbally trained to follow the guidance, even though written course materials actually contradict it.

Immigrants' rights advocates say the ICE guidance directly conflicts with the US Constitution's Fourth Amendment, which protects against unreasonable searches and seizures by government.

FWD.us President Todd Schulte called the ICE memo a "mass violation of basic due process, privacy and constitutional rights by law enforcement."

"The Constitution applies to immigrants and citizens," Schulte said in a statement. "The first thing to do when you’re in a hole is to stop digging. In this case, that means not voting to further increase funding for more ICE beds that will jail the very people arrested by these clearly unlawful, unconstitutional warrantless home raids."

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Senator Richard Blumenthal wrote in a Wednesday letter to Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, "This new policy is based on a secret legal interpretation and is directly contrary to Fourth Amendment law and agency practice."

"I'm demanding Sec. Noem provide an explanation for this abhorrent policy & that my Republican colleagues hold hearings & join me in demanding the Trump Admin answer for this lawlessness," Blumenthal posted on X.