ICE Sued Over Memo Authorizing Warrantless Arrests at Homes (1)

The US Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the Department of Homeland Security were hit with a lawsuit Friday challenging an allegedly unconstitutional policy that authorizes ICE agents to enter homes to make immigration arrests without a warrant.

Federal immigration officials “may not unilaterally change core constitutional principles and well-established jurisprudence governing judicial warrants,” two Latino and immigrant advocacy groups said in a complaint filed in the US District Court for the District of Massachusetts in Boston.

The lawsuit comes as ICE and President Donald Trump‘s immigration crackdown face broad scrutiny after federal immigration officers shot and killed two US citizens, Renée Good and Alex Pretti, during confrontations in Minneapolis.

Filed by the Greater Boston Latino Network and the Brazilian Worker Center, the Friday complaint asserts ICE’s actions in Minnesota have violated court orders and demonstrated a “flagrant contempt for the rule of law.”

Acting ICE chief Todd Lyons allegedly issued a memo last May authorizing the agency’s officers to rely on DHS administrative warrants—known as Form I-205s—to forcibly enter people’s homes without a judicial order to make an arrest.

But Form I-205s only allows immigration officers to take into custody individuals who are subject to a removal order issued by an immigration judge, and DHS regulations bar ICE from entering residences without a warrant or consent, the suit says. Long-standing Fourth Amendment law also bars searches and seizures inside a home without a warrant, the plaintiffs allege.

The network hosts community events to educate the public on their rights and how to navigate interactions with ICE. Those protocols include asking for a judicial warrant and knowing the difference between that and a Form I-205. The coalition and the nonprofit Brazilian Worker Center allege they’ve had to reallocate resources to retrain and strategize with staff due to Lyons’ guidance.

The complaint asserts violations of the Administrative Procedure Act and seeks declaratory and injunctive relief barring ICE from implementing the Lyons memo.

The US Department of Homeland Security and ICE didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment.

Lawyers for Civil Rights represents the groups.

The case is Greater Bos. Latino Network v. Noem, D. Mass., No. 1:26-cv-10472, complaint filed 1/30/26.