Trump's new rule targets undocumented immigrants. What does it mean?

The Trump administration has implemented a new detention policy for undocumented immigrants, eliminating bond hearings for many, including long-term residents.

The Trump administration is tightening its grip on undocumented immigrants with a new detention policy waiving the bond hearing of most who have entered the U.S. as illegals, even after many years of their residency in the country, as reported by The Washington Post.

A new ICE policy under the Trump administration mandates detention without bond hearings for undocumented immigrants, impacting long-time residents. (Photo by JOHN MOORE / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / Getty Images via AFP) (Getty Images via AFP)

Todd M. Lyons, acting director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), instructed officers to detain such immigrants “for the duration of their removal proceedings,” in a memo dated July 8.

Previously, immigrants could request bond hearings before an immigration judge. That’s no longer an option, as ICE and the Justice Department have “revisited its legal position on detention and release authorities” and determined that these individuals “may not be released from ICE custody.” Parole may be considered, but only under rare circumstances.

Now, who will be affected under this ruling? It's simple: millions of illegal immigrants who entered the US over the past decades, including during Joe Biden's term, and have since built lives in the U.S.

“It’s requiring the detention of far more people without any real review of their individual circumstances,” Greg Chen of the American Immigration Lawyers Association told The Washington Post.

ICE to detain 100,000 immigrants daily under new enforcement strategy

The rule is based on a part of immigration law that mandates detention for unauthorised immigrants post-arrest. However, that applied only to recent arrivals. But the Trump administration is now broadening that interpretation to include long-time residents, many of whom have families, homes, and no criminal records.

With a new $45 billion federal allocation to expand detention capacity, aiming to house up to 100,000 immigrants daily, nearly double the current number. “Detention is absolutely the best way to approach this, if you can do it. It costs a lot of money, obviously,” Mark Krikorian of the Center for Immigration Studies told The Post. “You’re pretty much guaranteed to be able to remove the person, if there’s a negative finding.”

ICE currently detains about 56,000 immigrants per day. The agency has reopened shuttered family centres and added temporary holding facilities—even in remote and difficult-to-access areas like the Florida Everglades and Arizona deserts.

“They are people who have been living here, all they’re doing is trying to make a living for their family,” argue immigration attorney Aaron Korthuis. “It is looking to supercharge detention beyond what it already is.”