ICE Revokes Bond Hearings for Illegals Immigrants Fighting Deportation

The Trump administration is seeking to keep illegal immigrants detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement in federal custody by denying them bond hearings.

Acting ICE director Todd Lyons wrote in an agency memo distributed earlier this month that while migrants without lawful status have historically been allowed to request a bond hearing before an immigration judge as they fight deportation proceedings in court, the Trump administration has revoked that privilege, per documents obtained by the Washington Post and other outlets.

The departments of Homeland Security and Justice “revisited” their positions on “detention and release authorities” and determined that such immigrants “may not be released from ICE custody,” according to the July 8 memo. Under ICE’s most recent directive, immigrants who entered the United States unlawfully should be detained “for the duration of their removal proceedings,” which could last years.

The policy change allows for some limited exceptions where the migrant could be released on parole, although the decision will be up to an ICE officer instead of a judge, according to Lyons, who noted the new approach is likely to face legal challenges.