Trump Administration Overhauls Deportation Policy: No More Free Passes for Illegal Immigrants

The Trump administration is taking a firm stand on illegal immigration with a sweeping new policy that ends the long-standing practice of releasing illegal aliens while they await deportation hearings.

According to a July 8 memo obtained by The Washington Post, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) will now detain illegal immigrants “for the duration of their removal proceedings.” The directive, issued by acting ICE Director Todd M. Lyons, reflects a coordinated legal decision by both the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the Department of Justice (DOJ) to halt the release of individuals who cross into the country illegally.

“ICE has revisited its legal position on detention and release authorities,” Lyons wrote, asserting that anyone who enters the U.S. unlawfully “may not be released from ICE custody.”

This policy shift doesn’t just apply to recent border-crossers—it extends to illegal immigrants already residing within the United States. This marks a significant expansion beyond previous measures that primarily targeted those caught at the border.

Customs and Border Protection (CBP) will also be enforcing the same no-release policy, further solidifying the administration’s unified stance.

Immigration activists are already sounding the alarm. Greg Chen of the American Immigration Lawyers Association warned, “This is their way of putting in place nationwide a method of detaining even more people.” The group reported that bond hearing denials are already increasing in New York, Virginia, Oregon, North Carolina, Ohio, and Georgia.

But border security advocates welcome the change. Mark Krikorian, executive director of the Center for Immigration Studies, backed the administration’s move:

“Detention is absolutely the best way to approach this, if you can do it. It costs a lot of money, obviously. But you’re pretty much guaranteed to be able to remove the person, if there’s a negative finding, if he’s in detention.”

The Biden-era ICE policy had allowed the release of most individuals with pending cases—reportedly more than 7.6 million. But that leniency is over.

The One Big Beautiful Bill Act, championed by President Trump and passed by Congress, is now fueling this policy change. The legislation grants $45 billion to ICE, enabling the agency to detain up to 100,000 illegal immigrants per day. An additional $14 billion will fund transportation and removals, along with the hiring of 10,000 new ICE agents.

While Tom Jawetz, a former Biden homeland security official, described the plan as “a radical departure,” critics of open-border policies argue it’s a long-overdue return to immigration enforcement grounded in national security and the rule of law.