NEW YORK, January 31. /TASS/. The Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Service has expanded the powers of its agents to detain people without an arrest warrant, The New York Times reported quoting an internal document of the department it obtained.

The story says that instead of targeted detentions, when agents receive an arrest warrant for a specific person, ICE officers will be able to immediately detain people during raids if they suspect that a person is in the country illegally and may escape while a warrant is being prepared.

Previously, such actions were possible if an immigration agent believed that a suspect in violation of migration laws might evade proceedings in the future, for example, not to appear at a hearing in his case, The New York Times writes. Acting ICE director Todd Lyons considered this approach unreasonable and incorrect, the newspaper notes.

According to the experts interviewed by The New York Times, such an interpretation would make issuing a warrant essentially meaningless and allow federal agents to detain almost anyone.

Criticism of anti-immigration raids in the United States escalated after federal officials twice used their service weapons in clashes with demonstrators in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The incidents caused a wide public outcry. Democrats sharply criticized the decisions and actions of the security forces, US President Donald Trump and his entourage for the situation in Minneapolis.