Trump ends bond hearings for undocumented immigrants, expands detention

The Trump administration has issued a sweeping new immigration policy that bars undocumented immigrants from seeking bond hearings while facing deportation proceedings, according to internal government documents reviewed by The Washington Post.

In a July 8 memo, acting Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) director Todd M. Lyons instructed officers to detain such immigrants “for the duration of their removal proceedings,” which can last months or even years. The policy is expected to affect millions of immigrants who crossed the U.S.-Mexico border in recent decades, including under the Biden administration, Caliber.Az reports.

Previously, many immigrants living in the U.S. interior were eligible to request bond hearings before immigration judges. But Lyons wrote that the Departments of Homeland Security and Justice have “revisited its legal position on detention and release authorities” and determined that these immigrants “may not be released from ICE custody.”

In rare cases, immigrants may be released on parole, but that decision will rest with immigration officers rather than judges.

The provision is based on a section of immigration law that says unauthorized immigrants “shall be detained” after arrest. Traditionally, that clause was applied to recent border crossers, not long-term U.S. residents.

Lyons, who oversees the country’s 200 immigration detention facilities, acknowledged in the memo that the policy will likely face legal challenges.

The change follows a congressional spending package that allocated $45 billion over four years to expand civil immigration detention. The funding will allow ICE to nearly double its detention capacity to 100,000 people per day.

Since the memo’s release, the American Immigration Lawyers Association reported that bond hearings have already been denied in over a dozen immigration courts across states including New York, Virginia, Oregon, North Carolina, Ohio, and Georgia.

“This is their way of putting in place nationwide a method of detaining even more people,” said Greg Chen, senior director of government relations for the association. “It’s requiring the detention of far more people without any real review of their individual circumstances.”

Supporters of the policy argue that expanded detention will help expedite deportations and deter fraudulent asylum claims.

“Detention is absolutely the best way to approach this, if you can do it. It costs a lot of money, obviously,” said Mark Krikorian, executive director of the Center for Immigration Studies. “You’re pretty much guaranteed to be able to remove the person, if there’s a negative finding, if he’s in detention.”

Despite the administration’s push, ICE’s 2024 annual report stated that the agency detains immigrants only “when necessary,” and the majority of the 7.6 million people on its docket were released pending proceedings.

Currently, immigrants convicted of serious crimes such as murder are subject to mandatory detention without bond. In 2024, theft-related crimes were added to that list following the killing of Georgia nursing student Laken Riley by a Venezuelan man previously arrested for shoplifting but not detained.

Immigration lawyers warn that the new policy applies a legal standard traditionally used at the border to a much wider group, including immigrants who have lived in the U.S. for years and may have legal grounds to stay. Many, they say, have citizen children and strong community ties.

Forcing these immigrants to remain in remote detention centers—such as those located in the Florida Everglades or Arizona deserts—makes it harder for them to access legal help or stay in contact with families.

“I think some courts are going to find that this doesn’t give noncitizens sufficient due process,” said Paul Hunker, an immigration lawyer and former ICE chief counsel in Dallas. “They could be held indefinitely until they’re deported.”

ICE is currently detaining about 56,000 people daily as officers ramp up enforcement to meet Trump’s pledge of deporting 1 million people in his first year. Officials have reopened shuttered family detention centers, launched soft-sided facilities, and begun deportations to unstable countries like South Sudan with minimal notice.

By Sabina Mammadli