Democrats' call for judicial warrants before arresting illegal aliens would reportedly severely hinder Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) operations.
The demand that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) "improve warrant procedures and standards" could grind ICE's enforcement and removal efforts to a near halt, immigration experts told The Washington Free Beacon.
Under current law, ICE agents rely heavily on administrative warrants authorized under the Immigration and Nationality Act.
Those warrants, issued by senior agency officials after a finding of probable cause, allow agents to arrest individuals unlawfully present in the United States and carry out civil immigration enforcement actions, including deportations.
Judicial warrants require a judge's signature and are generally tied to separate federal criminal offenses.
Requiring ICE to obtain judicial warrants in routine immigration cases would impose a significantly higher legal threshold and lengthier review process, critics say.
Lora Ries, director of the Heritage Foundation's Border Security and Immigration Center, told the Free Beacon that the change could slash ICE's enforcement capacity by as much as 90%.
With immigration courts already facing record backlogs and what she described as "activist judges" inclined to delay or deny requests, enforcement operations could slow "to almost a crawl."
"The Democrats don't want ICE to be able to do their job," Ries said, arguing that calls to "abolish ICE" have now evolved into procedural hurdles designed to cripple the agency from within.
ICE was arresting roughly 1,000 illegal aliens per day toward the end of 2025, according to the Free Beacon.
Heritage senior research fellow Simon Hankinson warned that requiring judicial warrants for each arrest would dramatically reduce that pace.
Democrats' push comes amid tense negotiations over DHS funding, which expires this weekend.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., have rejected a White House counteroffer and are threatening to let DHS shut down unless new restrictions are imposed on ICE.
Among the Democrats' demands are judicial warrants for arrests, limits on entering private property without a judge's authorization, stricter use-of-force standards, prohibitions on racial profiling, and requirements that ICE agents remove face coverings and display identification.
Republicans have called those proposals unworkable and dangerous.
House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., said forcing agents to remove masks would put them and their families at risk, noting that ICE officers have been doxed and targeted.
Sen. Markwayne Mullin, R-Okla., flatly rejected judicial warrant requirements, telling reporters, "No."
Immigration law experts have also questioned the feasibility of the proposal.
Center for Immigration Studies fellow Andrew Arthur told the Free Beacon that Border Patrol routinely makes warrantless arrests at the border because agents do not know the identity or status of those crossing illegally until after processing.
"If you say you need a warrant for every immigration arrest, that means I need a warrant for everybody that comes illegally over the border, which is impossible," Arthur said.
With DHS funding set to lapse, Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., has signaled Republicans may pursue a short-term extension while talks continue.
But many Democrats have said they will not vote for additional funding unless ICE enforcement is dramatically curtailed. That sets up a high-stakes showdown over border security and federal law enforcement authority.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Charlie McCarthy ✉
Charlie McCarthy, a writer/editor at Newsmax, has nearly 40 years of experience covering news, sports, and politics.
© 2026 Newsmax. All rights reserved.