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A newly disclosed government memo grants Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers broader authority to conduct warrantless arrests of people suspected of being in the United States illegally, expanding the circumstances under which agents can bypass standard administrative warrant requirements.
The directive, issued Wednesday by acting ICE Director Todd Lyons and filed Friday in federal court in Minnesota, widens the criteria officers may use to conclude that seeking an administrative arrest warrant would give a person time to flee. The memo was first reported by The New York Times.
Under U.S. immigration law, ICE officers generally must obtain an administrative arrest warrant — approved internally by the agency, not by a judge — before detaining someone for a civil immigration violation. However, the law permits warrantless arrests if officers believe a person is unlawfully present in the U.S. and is “likely to escape” before a warrant can be obtained.
Broader definition of ‘likely to escape’
Lyons’ memo significantly broadens ICE’s interpretation of what it means for a person to be “likely to escape,” rejecting a prior agency standard that focused on whether an individual posed a traditional “flight risk,” such as failing to appear at future immigration court hearings.
Lyons called that earlier definition “unreasoned” and “incorrect,” arguing instead that the legal standard hinges on whether a person can be located after officers leave the scene.
“An alien is ‘likely to escape’ if an immigration officer determines he or she is unlikely to be located at the scene of the encounter or another clearly identifiable location once an administrative warrant is obtained,” Lyons wrote.
The revised standard allows officers to rely on a range of situational factors to justify immediate arrests, including whether a person has refused commands, attempted to evade officers, is inside a vehicle, possesses potentially fraudulent documents, or could face criminal prosecution for illegal entry or re-entry.
Expansion of collateral arrests
The memo appears designed to give ICE greater flexibility to detain people who are not the original targets of an enforcement operation but are encountered during it — a practice known as collateral arrests.
Such arrests often involve immigrants accused only of civil immigration violations and who may lack serious criminal records or any criminal history at all. Civil immigration violations are not crimes under federal law.
Immigration advocates and some local officials have long criticized collateral arrests as overly broad and disruptive, arguing they can sweep up individuals with deep ties to their communities.
Context of heightened tensions
The disclosure comes amid mounting backlash over ICE activity in Minnesota, where the Trump administration has deployed an unusually large number of federal immigration agents. Local leaders and residents have condemned the operations as aggressive and destabilizing.
Tensions have intensified following the fatal shootings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti, both U.S. citizens and Minneapolis residents, who were killed in separate encounters with federal agents in recent weeks. Those deaths have prompted protests, lawsuits and calls from Democratic lawmakers to rein in immigration enforcement tactics.
The memo was submitted as part of ongoing litigation in Minnesota challenging aspects of the administration’s immigration operations. The Justice Department has defended ICE’s actions as lawful and necessary to enforce federal immigration statutes.
The expanded arrest authority outlined in Lyons’ directive is likely to face further legal scrutiny as courts weigh whether ICE’s interpretation aligns with statutory limits and constitutional protections.
