Illegal immigrants will no longer be set free as they fight possible deportation, according to a new report.
The Washington Post, citing a July 8 memo from Todd M. Lyons, acting director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, said the agency seeks to detain illegal immigrants “for the duration of their removal proceedings.”
Currently, illegal immigrants can request a bond hearing in front of an immigration judge. This can result in their release.
Lyons said the departments of Homeland Security and Justice “revisited its legal position on detention and release authorities” and decided anyone entering the U.S. illegally “may not be released from ICE custody.”
Customs and Border Protection will also follow the policy, the Post reported.
The Post report said this will apply to illegal immigrants already in the U.S., a departure from past practices in which only those caught after immediately crossing the border were detained.
ICE declares millions of immigrants without legal status as ineligible for bond hearings – The Washington Post They don’t deserve hearings just instant removal like a flash of light! Self Deportation with a chance of returning one day is the best option! https://t.co/BAJw2gBkzm
— Ronald Brackett (@windjammer1957) July 15, 2025
The American Immigration Lawyers Association said bond hearing denials are taking place in New York, Virginia, Oregon, North Carolina, Ohio and Georgia.
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“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.
Mark Krikorian, executive director for the Center for Immigration Studies, said detaining illegal immigrants makes sense.
“Detention is absolutely the best way to approach this, if you can do it. It costs a lot of money, obviously,” he said.
“You’re pretty much guaranteed to be able to remove the person, if there’s a negative finding, if he’s in detention.”
In its Biden-era 2024 annual report, ICE said that it detains illegal immigrants only “when necessary” and that most of the 7.6 million people with cases pending were released into the country.
Tom Jawetz, a Biden-era homeland security official, called the new plan “a radical departure that could explode the detention population,” according to the New York Post.
Alligator Alcatraz and ICE detention facilities are not meant to be the Four Seasons!!
They are criminals!!! pic.twitter.com/Dx4qjEJENk
— AmericanPapaBear (@AmericaPapaBear) July 13, 2025
Detentions can be increased because the recently passed One Big Beautiful Bill Act gives $45 billion to ICE in part to allow it to hold up to 100,000 illegal immigrants per day, according to Newsweek.
ICE will also be getting $14 billion for transportation and removals and funding to hire 10,000 more agents.
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