Can Colorado businesses ban ICE from public areas?

While U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents are legally prohibited from entering private areas of businesses without a judicial warrant, they can enter public areas without permission.

Private areas of a business are protected by 4th Amendment guarantees against unlawful searches. The Department of Homeland Security also requires agents to obtain a warrant from a judge or U.S. magistrate before entering areas that aren’t public without permission. 

ICE issues administrative warrants, or “ICE warrants,” to its agents, directing the arrests of allegedly deportable people. These documents are issued for civil violations of immigration law, and do not give ICE agents authority to enter private areas.

Public spaces can include dining areas of restaurants, parking lots, lobbies and waiting areas, the National Immigration Law Center said. To correctly mark private areas, business owners can display signs prohibiting visitors and the public from entering without permission.

See full source list below.

This fact brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.

The Colorado Sun partners with Gigafact to produce fact briefs — bite-sized fact checks of trending claims. Read our methodology to learn how we check claims.