## Facts

- Blackie’s House of Beef, Inc. operated a restaurant and cocktail lounge in Washington, D.C.
- INS agents received information that Blackie’s employed undocumented workers and conducted investigation supporting that allegation.
- On March 30, 1978, INS agents executed a warrant framed as a Rule 41 criminal search warrant authorizing a search for “property” and seizure of undocumented alien employees; agents entered the premises and detained employees.
- Blackie’s sued, asserting the entry and seizures were unlawful because a Rule 41 criminal warrant was not an appropriate mechanism for civil immigration enforcement in a workplace.
- On November 17, 1978, after obtaining additional information, INS agents executed a second warrant authorizing entry into the restaurant to question and detain suspected deportable alien employees.
- The second warrant described the premises and the class of persons sought but did not name or fully describe each individual employee to be seized; additional employees were detained.
- Blackie’s again sued, seeking declaratory relief and damages, alleging the second warrant violated the Fourth Amendment’s particularity requirement.
- The district court ruled for Blackie’s in both cases; the Government appealed, and the cases were consolidated.

## Issues

1. Whether INS may use a Rule 41 criminal search warrant to enter a commercial workplace to detain suspected undocumented workers for civil immigration enforcement purposes.
2. Whether an INS warrant to enter a workplace to detain suspected deportable aliens must name or individually describe each person sought to satisfy Fourth Amendment particularity, or whether describing a class of persons can suffice in an administrative warrant.

## Decision

- The court affirmed the judgment against the Government as to the March 30, 1978 raid, concluding that a Rule 41 criminal search warrant was not the proper warrant mechanism for this type of INS workplace operation.
- The court reversed the judgment invalidating the November 17, 1978 warrant, holding it was valid as a civil administrative warrant even without individually naming or fully describing each suspected alien.

## Legal Principles

- A workplace warrant used to enter commercial premises to locate and detain suspected deportable aliens for civil immigration enforcement is properly analyzed as a civil administrative warrant, not a Rule 41 criminal search warrant.
- Rule 41’s criminal “property/evidence” framework is not the appropriate tool for civil immigration workplace raids aimed at locating persons rather than seizing criminal evidence.
- For an administrative warrant, Fourth Amendment particularity is satisfied when the warrant reasonably describes the premises and meaningfully limits the scope of the search by describing the class of persons to be detained; individualized naming or detailed descriptions of each person are not categorically required.

## Conclusion

The D.C. Circuit limited INS reliance on Rule 41 criminal warrants for workplace raids but approved the use of civil administrative warrants that describe the premises and a defined class of suspected deportable employees, even when individual identities are not fully specified.


Blackie’s House of Beef, Inc. v. Castillo, 659 F.2d 1211 (D.C. Cir. 1981)