ICE issued an internal memo on January 29, 2026, expanding the agency's authority for warrantless arrests of suspected undocumented immigrants. Acting Director Todd M. Lyons reinterpreted a federal law to change the standard from whether individuals are unlikely to appear for immigration hearings to whether they are unlikely to remain at the scene of an encounter, directing agents to document the factors behind each warrantless arrest afterward. The memo was filed in federal court on January 30 as part of a case in Minnesota and was first reported by the New York Times. A Department of Homeland Security spokesperson called the memo "nothing new," saying it simply reminds officers to keep detailed arrest records, while Sen. Jeff Merkley criticized the policy and a former senior ICE adviser described the new interpretation as unusually broad.