President Donald Trump’s administration is taking new steps to ramp up immigrant detention by denying bond hearings to migrants who entered the U.S. illegally, according to an internal memo reviewed by Reuters. The shift is expected to significantly increase the number of people held in detention as they await deportation proceedings.
The guidance from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), issued on July 8, directs agents to treat several existing immigration statutes as barring the release of detained individuals—effectively blocking them from seeking bond. The policy applies to those contesting their removal and could affect millions of undocumented immigrants.
Trump has pledged sweeping deportations if reelected, blaming what he calls “record levels” of illegal immigration on his predecessor, President Joe Biden.
A recently passed congressional spending bill supports this effort by allocating funding to detain over 100,000 people—almost doubling the current record of 58,000 in custody as of late June.
The new ICE policy also advises government attorneys to pursue “alternative arguments” to keep detainees behind bars during immigration court hearings, suggesting a broad and aggressive interpretation of federal law.
Critics say the move upends long-established legal standards. “This is a radical departure that could explode the detention population,” said Tom Jawetz, a former Department of Homeland Security official under the Biden administration.
The Department of Homeland Security and ICE declined to comment.
