The Trump administration ended bond for illegal immigrants, requiring them to be detained until an immigration judge makes a final determination in their case.
Acting Immigration and Customs Enforcement director Todd M. Lyons directed the detention of illegals “for the duration of their removal proceedings,” in a July 8 memo reviewed by the Washington Post. Similar guidance was issued by Customs and Border Protection Commissioner Rodney Scott.
This detention could last months or years and will particularly hit the millions of illegals Joe Biden allowed to enter the country on his infamous "catch and release" policy. In the past, illegals could request bond hearings. Under this process, illegals posted a nominal bond and were freed pending an immigration court appearance that could be years in the future. Director Lyons stated the Trump administration’s Homeland Security and Justice Departments decided to adhere to the letter of the law, which states illegals “shall be detained" after apprehension. In the past, this was reserved for apprehensions at the border but now it applies to all illegals. In the future, wrote Lyons, illegals “may not be released from ICE custody.” In rare cases, parole is possible, but only by an immigration officer, not an immigration judge or federal judge. The advantage of detention is that an immigration judge's ruling that there are no grounds to permit continued U.S. residence is followed by immediate deportation.
The change represents a monumental undertaking only made possible by ICE receiving a whopping $45 billion in the One Big Beautiful Bill to build detention facilities like Florida's Alligator Alcatraz. In ICE's 2024 annual report, it says that there are over 7.6 million illegals free on bond awaiting hearings. The true number of illegals is anyone's guess.
“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 American Immigration Lawyers Association. “It’s requiring the detention of far more people without any real review of their individual circumstances.”
Well, no. Their individual circumstances is that they are illegals. Eventually, they will have an immigration court review of their case and then have the opportunity to appeal that ruling. They can free themselves at any time by agreeing to deportation.
The policy will undoubtedly face legal challenges because while there was not enough pro bono legal assistance for J6 defendants, there is more than ample counsel for every illegal. However, the track record does not look all that good for those fighting to stay in the U.S. In March, the pro-illegal immigration Northwest Immigrant Rights Project in Seattle challenged the policy of Tacoma, Washington, immigration judges denying bond to illegals detained by ICE. The " no bond" ruling survived, and "Ramon Rodriguez Vazquez, [who] has lived in Washington state since 2009, works as a farmer and is the “proud grandfather” of 10 U.S. citizens," elected to self-deport rather than remain in custody. I suspect he will have a lot of company as the policy develops the infrastructure for its efficient execution.