Last month, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents surveilled a Tampa home, suspecting it to be the residence of Marvin Isaac Caceres Maradiaga, a Tampa man who operated a small construction company. In a criminal complaint obtained by Creative Loafing Tampa Bay, ICE said that Caceres is a citizen of Honduras who was given a final order of removal in 2023. In the document, ICE said that agents confronted Caceres, at which point two relatives, Alfredo Fuentes and Luz Mary Vasquez Cruz emerged from the house. An altercation began between the relatives and ICE agents, and ICE said this is when Caceres entered the residence.
Without a valid judicial warrant, ICE was prohibited by the Fourth Amendment from forcibly entering the property to search for Caceres. They instead relied on getting “consent” to enter from a resident. For ICE, consent to enter may be as simple as someone opening a door. In this case, ICE said they obtained verbal consent to enter. Fuentes, Caceres’ stepson, told WFLA: “They just pointed guns at us in our face. They told us to open our door, or they would break it down. They didn’t have no warrant.”
When ICE agents entered the home, Caceres had fled (and was later caught), and Fuentes and Cruz were arrested for “forcibly assaulting, resisting, or impeding a federal officer or employee,” per a press release from U.S. Attorney Gregory W. Kehoe’s office.
This case highlights what the American Civil Liberties Union says is a common tactic law enforcement uses to skirt around the Fourth Amendment—a part of the constitution which protects against unreasonable search and seizure. ICE can rely on officially-sanctioned ruses to gain consent to enter a home. Agents can claim to be missionaries wanting to talk about the Bible, or say that they are local police investigating a crime. They can also draw weapons and say they will break down your door if you don’t let them in, which Fuentes said happened to his family.
The National Immigration Law Center says there are two different types of warrant ICE may provide: a judicial warrant, which is signed by a judge of a judicial court (not an immigration judge) to authorize search of a property; and an administrative warrant, which ICE issues internally.
Even if ICE has a warrant to arrest someone who is inside of your home, legal experts say they still can’t enter without a judicial warrant or your consent.
“To enter a home, an ICE officer would need a valid search warrant signed by a judge—even if they know someone inside is subject to an administrative ICE ‘warrant,’” Paul R. Chavez, Litigation Director at Americans for Immigrant Justice, told Creative Loafing Tampa Bay when asked about immigrants’ rights in general, not in connection with Caceres’ case. “Administrative warrants, issued by ICE itself, do not authorize forced entry into a home, unlike judicial warrants signed by a judge. To enter a home, ICE typically needs either consent or a judicial warrant.”
Americans for Immigrant Justice, a nonprofit law firm that fights for justice for immigrants, is not representing the family in Tampa.
NILC advocates for knowing your rights ahead of time so you can be prepared if ICE comes knocking at your door. A January 2025 document by the center outlines a few key differences between judicial warrants and administrative warrants.
A judicial warrant is issued by a judicial court and signed by a state or federal judge or magistrate. To be valid, NILC says it must accurately state the address of the premises to be searched and be executed within the time period specified on the warrant. If the judicial warrant is valid, you must comply with it. However, if it is not valid, or is an immigration warrant—which will be signed only by an immigration officer or immigration judge—then you may refuse to comply and ask the agents to leave.
When law enforcement knocks on the door, individuals shouldn’t open it, NILC says; opening it can be construed as “consent” to have the home searched. Individuals should ask to see a warrant, either slipped under the door or held up to a window, and take a picture of the warrant if possible. NILC says to open the door if the warrant pertains to the individual or the home specifically, is valid and is signed by a judge (other than an immigration judge). Anyone who does get arrested, NILC says, should only speak to assert their rights, refuse consent or to clarify instructions. Agents may attempt to coerce individuals to speak, but they are not required to do so without a lawyer present.
Even when ICE tries to say otherwise, individuals have the constitutional right to ask for a warrant, lock their doors and shut up.
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This article appears in Aug 7-13, 2025.