The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches an seizures, shall not be violated, and no warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and, particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.
Text of the fourth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States of America.
For those not up on their history, or U.S. law, the Constitution is the bedrock upon which all other federal and state laws must abide by. It cannot be changed or removed except by a fairly long and complicated legislative process, or by a nationwide vote of the people.
What the fourth amendment boils down to is that in this country, unless a person is actively committing a crime, you must get a judge to issue a fucking warrant for probable cause before searching a suspect's home and other property or taking them into custody.
Well, unless, of course, you are the current Department of Homeland Security and those wild and crazy folks at Immigration and Customs Enforcement. (ICE) At least that's what they believe. On May 12th, 2025 acting ICE head honcho, Todd Lyons sent out a memo, meant to stay secret, which stated ICE agents didn't need a judge to issue a warrant for anything, or anyone they search and seize. From that time on the agency could rely on what is known as an administrative warrant. It is a piece of paper written by, not a judge, but by ICE agents themselves.
In other words, according to that memo, ICE agents are now allowed to give themselves permission to enter homes and drag people out of their cars whenever they want to. It is something the British were doing willy nilly 250 years ago. Their searches and seizures pissed off the colonists so much it became a major contributing cause to the American Revolution and later, the creation of--that's right--the fourth amendment of the Constitution.
No wonder, Lyons wanted to keep it secret.
It's unclear if ICE agents had given themselves written permission, or not on Tuesday of this week. That day, they hauled Adrian Arias from his running car after he pulled into his suburban Minneapolis home's driveway. (ICE claims he tried to flee after they approached him.) He had just returned from picking up his 5-year-old kid, Liam, from his pre-school class.
That's when things became really weird.
Five-year-old Liam was also, "detained," by federal agents. What actually happened depends on who you believe. According to witnesses, agents made the boy knock on the house's front door and ask to be let in as they stood next to him. Witnesses also say the child's mother, who is pregnant was inside, along with her 13-year-old. Thanks to agency's current reputation in the twin cities, friends urged her not to open the door. The feds were, they said, using her five-year-old as bait so they could snatch her too. These days, it is not an unreasonable assumption. A person who is said to also live at the house arrived in front of the place and told the agents he would watch Liam, but ICE guys steadfastly refused the request. They wanted to see the kid's terrified mom, or they'd take him with them.
The ICE version varies some--which isn't surprising. First, they said Liam was abandoned by those inside the home. They claimed the people inside refused to open the door, even after they promised not to arrest them. (Imagine that.) According to Vice President J.D. Vance, who was in town that day, but not at the scene, to leave Liam there by himself was to let him freeze to death all alone. Then the story morphed into Liam's father demanded that the boy remain with him, no matter what. Whatever the case, Adrian Arias and his son were immediately, without legal representation, or even a phone call, shipped to an ICE detention center in Texas.
According to Vance Liam's father was being arrested because he is in the country illegally. On Thursday, the family's immigration attorney told the media they had originally come from Ecuador. In December 2024 they met Border Patrol officials as they crossed into Texas and requested asylum. They were allowed to enter the United States legally and their asylum hearing and a decision on their status is still pending. To date, Adrian Arias has never been charged with or convicted of any crime in the state of Minnesota. The criminal record of his nefarious accomplice, Babyface Liam, is unknown.
Ah yes, the very definition of the worst of the worst--both of them. Now that they are off the streets, are you sleeping any easier America? Are you...great again?
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