As immigration enforcement operations increase in Colorado, immigration lawyers say a leaked federal memo could embolden immigration enforcement officials to violate long-standing Fourth Amendment protections.
The concern stems from an internal U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement memo obtained by The Associated Press on Jan. 21 that authorizes federal immigration officers to forcibly enter homes without a judge’s warrant in order to conduct arrests and removals. Immigration lawyers in Colorado say itap a violation of the Fourth Amendmentap protection against unreasonable searches.
“We’ve all been reeling with what is going on around the country,” said Karen McCarthy, founder of Colorado immigration law firm Elevation Law. “Our number one goal is both to protect our clients (and) the community and, quite frankly, to hold our government accountable and make sure that our current administration follows the Constitution.”
Administrative warrants on their own, drafted and signed by ICE officials, generally do not grant agents legal permission to use force to enter a residence. The Department of Homeland Security, on the other hand, has stated that using those internal documents to enter homes is legal on the grounds that those served with administrative warrants have already received due process and that “illegal aliens don’t have the same rights as citizens.” .
