An immigration officer from ICE or CBP may not enter any nonpublic areas—or areas that are not freely accessible to the public and hence carry a higher expectation of privacy—without a valid judicial warrant or consent to enter. An immigration warrant is not the same as a judicial warrant; an immigration warrant does not authorize a search of nonpublic areas. If an ICE or any other immigration agency officer comes to your address demanding entry to search your premises or seeking to obtain evidence and the officer has only an immigration warrant, you may refuse the officer entry and refuse to comply with the warrant because it does not grant the officer authority to enter or conduct a search.
Thus, if immigration authorities or other law enforcement agents present you with a warrant, it is crucial to check for the following:
| Judicial Warrant | Immigration Warrant |
| To be valid, a judicial warrant must: – Be issued by a judicial court – Be signed by a state or federal judge or magistrate – State the address of the premises to be searched — make sure the stated address is your address or specifically pertains to you – Be executed within the time period specified on the warrant If the warrant includes all the above, then it is a valid judicial warrant and you must comply. However, if the judicial warrant is missing any of the above, lists a different address, or is being executed after the date specified on the warrant, then it likely is not valid, and you may (a) refuse to comply and (b) ask the agents to leave. | In contrast, an immigration warrant: – Is issued by a DHS agency (look for a DHS seal, label, and/or the actual form number, i.e., DHS Form I-200, “Warrant for Arrest”; or Form I-205, “Warrant of Removal/Deportation”) – Is signed by an immigration officer or immigration judge – Bears a title that will contain the word “Alien” – States that the authority to issue the warrant comes from immigration law, such as the Immigration and Nationality Act — and does not state that the issuing authority is a court If the warrant has any of the above characteristics, it likely is an immigration warrant and thus does not authorize the agent(s) to enter the premises. You may (a) refuse to comply with the warrant and (b)ask the agents to leave. |
Information and image courtesy of the National Immigration Law Center