In a significant shift in U.S. immigration policy, the acting director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), Todd M. Lyons, issued a memo on July 8, 2025, directing officers to detain immigrants who entered the United States illegally for the duration of their removal proceedings, effectively eliminating their eligibility for bond hearings.
This policy change, first reported by The Washington Post, marks a major departure from previous practices where undocumented immigrants could request a bond hearing before an immigration judge to seek release from detention while their cases were pending.
The memo, described to ABC News by sources familiar with the matter, instructs ICE officers to hold immigrants in custody throughout their deportation proceedings, which can last months or even years.
This development comes as part of broader efforts by the Trump administration to strengthen immigration enforcement and increase detentions of undocumented immigrants.
The policy is expected to face significant legal challenges, as noted by Lyons himself in the memo, with critics arguing it could violate due process rights.
Prior to this change, undocumented immigrants could request a bond hearing, allowing an immigration judge to determine whether they could be released from detention while their deportation cases were adjudicated.
The new policy effectively mandates detention for those who entered the U.S. illegally, except in cases where mandatory detention was already required, such as for individuals convicted of serious crimes like murder or, more recently, theft-related offenses.
This shift aligns with a broader $45 billion congressional spending package passed in early July 2025, which aims to double ICE’s detention capacity to approximately 100,000 people per day over the next four years.
The American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) reported that since the memo’s issuance, immigrants have been denied bond hearings in more than a dozen immigration courts across states including New York, Virginia, Oregon, North Carolina, Ohio, and Georgia.
Greg Chen, AILA’s senior director of government relations, described the policy as a “radical departure” aimed at detaining more individuals, stating, “This is their way of putting in place nationwide a method of detaining even more people.”
Reactions and Expected Challenges
The policy has drawn polarized reactions.
Supporters, such as Mark Krikorian, executive director of the Center for Immigration Studies, argue that detention ensures compliance with deportation orders, stating, “You’re pretty much guaranteed to be able to remove the person, if there’s a negative finding, if he’s in detention.”
However, immigrant advocates have raised concerns about the health and welfare of detainees, noting that prolonged detention can exacerbate mental and physical health issues.
ICE’s 2024 annual report emphasized that detention is used only “when necessary” and that the majority of the 7.6 million people on its docket were previously released pending proceedings, highlighting the logistical and humanitarian challenges of mass detention.
Legal experts anticipate challenges to the policy, arguing it may infringe on constitutional protections.
The Department of Justice, which oversees immigration courts, has not yet commented on the memo, but the expected lawsuits could test the policy’s legality and its alignment with due process standards.
This policy follows other recent immigration enforcement measures, including expanded mandatory detention for individuals with certain criminal convictions.
For instance, Congress recently added theft-related crimes to the list of offenses requiring detention without bond, prompted by high-profile cases such as the murder of Georgia nursing student Laken Riley by a Venezuelan migrant previously arrested for shoplifting.
The memo reflects the Trump administration’s broader strategy to prioritize immigration enforcement, as evidenced by posts on X and statements from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), which assert the policy’s compliance with existing law.
However, critics on X and in advocacy circles have labeled it a drastic measure that could overwhelm detention facilities and strain judicial resources.
As this is a developing story, further details are expected to emerge regarding the policy’s implementation and its impact on the immigration system.
Legal challenges are likely to shape the policy’s future, with potential implications for the millions of undocumented immigrants currently navigating deportation proceedings.
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