New ICE memo gives deportation officers more leeway to conduct warrantless arrests

A new government memo disclosed in federal court granted Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers more leeway to carry out warrantless arrests of those suspected of being in the U.S. illegally. In:

A new government memo disclosed in federal court granted Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers more leeway to carry out warrantless arrests of those suspected of being in the U.S. illegally.

The directive expands the grounds ICE agents and officers can cite to conclude that getting an administrative immigration arrest for someone they encounter during an operation would give that person an opportunity to flee while a warrant is sought.

The memo suggests the rules are designed to give ICE greater flexibility to quickly arrest unauthorized immigrants who are not the original targets of an operation but are nonetheless encountered and found to have violated U.S. immigration law. Those detentions are known as "collateral arrests," and typically involve immigrants accused of civil immigration violations but who lack serious criminal histories or any at all.

The memo was issued by acting ICE director Todd Lyons on Wednesday and submitted to a federal court in Minnesota on Friday. Its contents were first reported by The New York Times.

Under U.S. immigration law, immigration officers typically need an administrative warrant before making an arrest. Those warrants are signed by employees of ICE, typically agency supervisors, and not judges, unlike judicial warrants.