JD Vance Fact-checked Over Claim Over Warrants In ICE Operations
The truth is that actual judges play almost no role in even administrative warrants
Legal and immigration experts almost immediately fact-checked claims by Vice President JD Vance about the use of warrants in ongoing operations by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and related agencies.
Federal agents — often masked and usually unidentified — have often relied on administrative warrants to detain migrants and even as a basis to forcibly enter people’s homes and vehicles.
The actions of these agents regularly appear to violate the Fourth Amendment’s prohibition against unreasonable searches and seizures by the government without warrants signed by a judge.
In fact, a previously secret ICE memo has surfaced which specifically tells agents to break into homes and vehicles on only the authority of administrative warrants.
Vance, however, Thursday tried to defend to legality of Trump administration immigration enforcement.
“Nobody is talking about doing immigration enforcement without a warrant. We’re talking about different types of warrants that exist in our system. Typically in the immigration system, those are handled by administrative law judges. So we’re talking about getting warrants from them,” the vice president claimed.
That is just not true, according to experts.
“This is 100% FALSE. Immigration judges do NOT play any role in issuing administrative warrants. They are generated and signed by ICE officers themselves. ICE’s own training materials say they can’t be used for a search of a home!” posted Aaron Reichlin-Melnick, senior fellow at the American Immigration Council in Washington DC.
He also posted a blank “Warrant of Removal/Deportation,” with the comment, “Note who signs it,” pointing out that it’s supposed to be signed by an immigration officer and not a judge.
Asha Rangappa, an attorney and former FBI agent, agreed.
“The DHS Form-205, a ‘warrant’ of removal/deportation, is signed by an ICE official, not a judge. That’s precisely why it does not meet the Fourth Amendment standard,” she posted.
She added, with apparent sarcasm, “(JD did go to Yale Law School so he legit may not know how the Fourth Amendment works)”
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