Require Judicial Warrants Before Local Jails Honor ICE Hold Requests

ICE detainers are civil requests, not warrants.

A letter to your members of Congress. Facts checked June 8, 2026.

The Letter

Subject Require a Judicial Warrant Before Local Jails Can Hold Someone for ICE

An ICE detainer is a civil request, not a criminal warrant. Federal appeals courts in multiple circuits have ruled that holding someone on a warrantless ICE detainer violates the Fourth Amendment. Local jails have no legal obligation to comply, and those that do expose their counties to lawsuits.

Maryland passed the Community Trust Act on June 1, 2026, barring correctional staff from honoring ICE detainer requests without a valid judicial warrant. The governor allowed it to become law without signing, signaling the politics are real on both sides.

Congress should pass legislation requiring a judicial warrant before any local or state jail can hold a person for ICE. The Fourth Amendment does not have an immigration exception. People held on civil requests without court orders are being detained without the constitutional protections that apply to everyone in this country.

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Call Your Representative

U.S. Capitol switchboard: (202) 224-3121

I'm calling about ICE detainers and the Fourth Amendment.
An ICE detainer is a civil request, not a criminal warrant. Federal courts in multiple circuits have ruled that warrantless ICE holds violate the Fourth Amendment. Local jails that comply face lawsuits.
Maryland just passed a law requiring a judicial warrant before jails can honor ICE holds. Congress should do the same nationally.
Please support legislation requiring judicial warrants before any local jail can detain someone at ICE's civil request. The Fourth Amendment does not have an immigration exception.
I'm a constituent and I vote.

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The Facts Behind the Ask

civil request What an ICE detainer actually is — not a criminal warrant, not a court order. Local compliance is voluntary. (source)
multiple circuits Federal appeals courts that have ruled warrantless ICE detainer compliance violates the Fourth Amendment (source)
1,864 local law enforcement agreements to cooperate with ICE as of May 2026, up from 135 in January 2025 (source)

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