Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said Tuesday that her officers have used administrative warrants — those that aren’t approved by a judge — to enter homes to make arrests 28 times so far.
She said that was out of 400,000 cases where administrative warrants have been used so far.
Ms. Noem, testifying to the Senate Judiciary Committee, defended the use of administrative warrants, saying that’s what Congress decided should be used in the immigration context.
“It’s the process in immigration law you’ve given us to ensure someone is returned back to their home country,” she said. “It’s the legal process we have that we follow.”
She was pushing back on complaints that her agents and officers make immigration arrests without obtaining a “judicial warrant,” or one signed by an independent court.
That’s become a refrain for state and local Democrats who resist cooperation with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. They say they’ll cooperate if ICE gets a judicial warrant, but won’t cooperate when ICE seeks to make an immigration arrest from their prisons and jails using just an administrative warrant.
SEE ALSO: Noem says Trump personally approved her deportation ads
Ms. Noem, though, said that’s a misunderstanding of immigration law.
Judicial warrants are involved in criminal law, but immigration enforcement is generally a matter of civil law. The penalty is not incarceration but removal from the country.
• Stephen Dinan can be reached at sdinan@washingtontimes.com.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.