02/19/2026
DHS & ICE are relying on administrative warrants signed by agency officials — not judges — to detain people, even though the 4th Amendment protects against unreasonable searches and seizures and requires a judicial warrant to enter homes, schools, or workplaces without consent.
Administrative warrants are not reviewed by a judge and do not automatically authorize entry into private spaces, but federal agents are using them as justification, and in many cases refusing to show any warrant at all.
ICE claims they don’t need judicial warrants, insisting they can detain anyone they suspect of being undocumented based on probable cause. This has resulted in a nationwide racial profiling campaign where federal agents are essentially Stop & Frisking anyone who appears to be a minority or have an accent.
In 2013 Federal Courts ruled that NYC’s Stop & Frisk policy violated the 4th & 14th Amendments because of unconstitutional searches and racial discrimination. If that was unlawful for NYPD, why are similar tactics being accepted at the federal level?
