Firestorm ignites as secret ICE memo authorizes agents to storm homes with no warrants
A memo newly revealed on Wednesday outlined how Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents conspired to ignore the Fourth Amendment's restrictions on unreasonable search and seizure, by asserting power to enter people's homes without a warrant.
This revelation triggered outrage from legal experts and politicians on social media, with demands for answers and accountability.
"This is likely not legal and will be challenged in court," wrote attorney Eva Golinger.
"Blatantly unconstitutional. This is what a police state looks like," wrote the Republicans Against Trump account on X.
"HOLY CRAP," wrote American Immigration Council senior fellow Aaron Reichlin-Melnick. "An ICE whistleblower just revealed a secret memo authorizing ICE officers to break into homes without a judicial warrant, which DHS's own legal training materials say is unconstitutional! ICE then hid the memo from the public, passing it along by word of mouth."
"Some of the most powerful officials at DOJ have no respect for the Fourth Amendment," wrote civil rights litigator Patrick Jaicomo. "The Bondi AEA memo made that clear in the spring ... It’s still shocking to see this. Feds can’t enter homes without warrants, and warrants must be issued by judges, not ICE agents."
"Every American — Republican and Democrat — should be outraged by this assault on freedom and privacy," wrote Gov. Tim Walz (D-MN), whose state has for weeks been flooded with ICE agents as Trump fixates on an obsession with the Somali diaspora community in Minneapolis.
"Plainly unconstitutional and unlawful," wrote former Michigan Rep. Justin Amash, who temporarily left the Republican Party over his opposition to President Donald Trump.
"A whistleblower just revealed a secret ICE Memo authorizing federal agents to storm homes w/out judicial warrants," wrote former Justice Department official Brian Farnkoff. "ICE issued the memo in May and has since covered it up — disseminating it primarily verbally. It’s stunning and in blatant contravention of the Fourth Amendment."
"Yeah I am not voting to give whatever ICE has become more tax payer money," wrote Sen. Ruben Gallego (D-AZ). "It’s no longer an immigration enforcement arm of the US government."