WP: Trump administration ends bail hearings for millions of undocumented migrants

The Trump administration has announced that undocumented migrants in the United States will no longer be eligible for bail hearings while their deportation cases proceed, a shift expected to affect millions of individuals.

According to a memo dated July 8, Todd M. Lyons, the acting director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), instructed officers to detain those who entered the country unlawfully "for the duration of their removal proceedings," which may extend for months or even years, Caliber.Az reports per foreign media.

Legal experts note that the measure will likely apply retroactively to immigrants who entered the country decades ago, including those who arrived under President Biden.

Previously, undocumented migrants living in the U.S. interior could request a bail hearing before an immigration judge.

However, Lyons stated that the Departments of Homeland Security and Justice had "revisited its legal position on detention and release authorities" and concluded such migrants "may not be released from ICE custody." Exceptions will be rare, with decisions on parole left solely to immigration officers.

The directive draws on a section of immigration law requiring detention after arrest, which historically applied to recent border crossers rather than long-term residents. Lyons acknowledged the policy would likely face legal scrutiny.

ICE declined to comment, as did U.S. Customs and Border Protection, whose commissioner issued a similar memo the previous week.

The new stance follows a congressional decision to allocate $45 billion over four years to expand immigration detention infrastructure, aiming to detain up to 100,000 individuals daily.

Since the guidance was issued, reports have surfaced of bail hearings being denied in at least a dozen immigration courts, including in New York, Virginia, and Oregon.

"This is their way of putting in place nationwide a method of detaining even more people," said Greg Chen, senior director at the American Immigration Lawyers Association. "It’s requiring the detention of far more people without any real review of their individual circumstances."

Advocates argue the policy disproportionately affects long-term residents, many of whom have deep family and community ties. Critics say this approach undermines due process and makes it harder for detainees to prepare their legal cases.

"I think some courts are going to find that this doesn’t give noncitizens sufficient due process," said Paul Hunker, a former ICE chief counsel.

At present, ICE detains around 56,000 migrants daily as part of a broader push to fulfil President Trump’s pledge to deport 1 million individuals within his first year in office.

A similar policy being challenged in a lawsuit filed in March in Washington state highlights concerns over extended detentions without judicial oversight.

The original plaintiff, Ramon Rodriguez Vazquez, who had no criminal history and ten U.S. citizen grandchildren, was denied bail and has since returned to Mexico.

Aaron Korthuis, a lawyer involved in the case, said the new rules "are looking to supercharge detention beyond what it already is."

By Aghakazim Guliyev