About Those Warrants: CNN Gets It Bigly Wrong on the Details
By Dan Cadman on September 15, 2025
CNN recently published a “get to know the law” piece attempting to lay out the parameters of what federal officers (generally speaking, the Border Patrol, CBP inspectors, and ICE) can and cannot do in enforcing the immigration laws: “What immigration lawyers want you to know about ICE and criminal warrants”.
Because immigration law is incredibly complex with its interwoven strands of criminal and administrative/civil enforcement provisions often moving forward in tandem with one another, the article is kinda-sorta right, and kinda-sorta wrong because it’s fuzzy on the details. And the devil is always in the details, which makes the article pretty much useless as a guide. I have neither the time nor patience for complete defenestration, so I'll select just a few things from this smorgasbord of offerings. Take for example this bit of wisdom:
The [Fourth] amendment [against unreasonable searches and seizures] “ensures everyone’s privacy is protected, regardless of immigration status,” said Ana Valenzuela, senior attorney at Minsky McCormick & Hallagan, P.C., a Chicago-based immigration law firm.
“Law enforcement does not have the right to just enter” a home or a private business unless they have a warrant signed by a judge, Valenzuela told CNN.
https://cis.org/Cadman/About-Those-Warrants-CNN-Gets-It-Bigly-Wrong-Details
