Federal Limits

Limit 06 of nine · Warrant

Require a judge’s warrant

0 of 36 arrest reports complied with a federal court’s injunction — arrests run on agency forms, not warrants.

The problem

Federal civil arrests run on forms an agency supervisor signs, not a neutral judge. Four federal courts enjoined the warrantless practice and three found defiance; in Colorado, not one of the 36 arrest reports produced under the injunction complied — “It is as if this court’s order never happened,” as the ACLU attorney on the case put it. A state judicial-warrant law is the self-executing answer.

What the law does

Requires a judge’s warrant before any state or local actor detains or transfers a person for federal civil enforcement; agency forms and detainers don’t qualify.

Where it stands

Where it stands — all 52 jurisdictions14 of 52 have this limit; 9 at full strength
full partial none red underline = state law mandates cooperation

Methodology v3.4 · scored Jun 10 2026

The model language

“No state or local agency, and no officer, employee, or contractor of any state or local agency, shall detain any person, hold any person beyond the lawful holding period for state purposes, or transfer any person to federal civil immigration enforcement custody, absent a judicial warrant signed by a federal or state judge or magistrate.”

— Section 6 · Warrant Requirement and Rights Notification, The Federal Limits Act
Read the full model bill →

What we propose

Bar state and local actors from detaining or transferring anyone into federal civil custody without a judge-signed warrant; state plainly that an I-247 detainer or I-200 administrative warrant does not qualify; shield agencies that decline. Model: California SB 54 (§7284.6); Massachusetts Lunn v. Commonwealth.

Who’s already done it

14 states; 9 at full strength — CA, CO, CT, IL, MA, ME, NJ, NY, OR. California’s SB 54 is the statutory model; Massachusetts reached the same bar through its high court (Lunn, 2017).

On the record

Status: acute — the warrantless lane is the federal mainline; courts engaged, defiance documented. The state statute is the durable fix.

One of nine.
Not the whole fight.

See where your state stands on all nine limits, or read the model bill section that closes this one.

Check your state → ← Back to the Nine