Millions of migrants who entered the U.S. illegally will now be held in detention for the duration of their deportation proceedings, potentially lasting months or even years, under a sweeping new Trump administration policy aimed at tightening immigration enforcement.
According to a July 8 memo from acting ICE Director Todd M. Lyons, migrants will no longer be eligible for bond hearings and must remain in ICE custody while their cases play out. The memo states that immigration law requires detention and prohibits the release of those subject to removal.
“This is their way of putting in place nationwide a method of detaining even more people,” said Greg Chen of the American Immigration Lawyers Association. “It’s requiring the detention of far more people without any real review of their individual circumstances.”
Major Policy Shift
The directive reverses decades of legal practice that allowed migrants to request bond hearings before immigration judges. Historically, many migrants have been released on bond while awaiting a final ruling. As of last year, most of the 7.6 million migrants on ICE’s docket were not in custody.
Under the new guidance, exceptions for release