Millions could be jailed for years as new Trump rule targets longtime undocumented residents - What does that mean?

The Trump administration has ordered immigration officers to detain undocumented immigrants without offering them the chance to apply for bond during deportation proceedings, the Washington Post reported. In a memo reviewed by the Post on 8 July, Todd M. Lyons, the acting director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), said that immigrants who entered the country illegally must now be detained “for the duration of their removal proceedings”, a process that can take months or even years. This decision could affect millions of people who entered the US illegally in recent decades, including during President Biden’s term.

Immigration judges removed from decision-making process

Previously, undocumented immigrants living within the US were allowed to request bond hearings before immigration judges. However, Lyons stated in the memo that the Departments of Homeland Security and Justice had reviewed the legal framework and concluded that such individuals “may not be released from ICE custody.”

In rare cases, release on parole may still be granted, but that decision will lie with immigration officers, not judges. The policy relies on a section of immigration law that mandates detention after arrest, a rule that has historically applied only to recent border crossers, not long-term residents.

Congress allocates $45 billion for expanded detention

This major shift in immigration enforcement comes just after Congress approved a $45 billion budget to increase the U.S.’s detention capacity over the next four years. With the new funds, ICE is expected to double the number of immigrants it can detain daily, up to 100,000 people.

Already, reports have emerged of immigrants being denied bond hearings in over a dozen courts across states such as New York, Virginia, North Carolina, Oregon, Ohio and Georgia, according to the American Immigration Lawyers Association.

Though ICE claims in its 2024 annual report that most of the 7.6 million immigrants on its docket are released while their cases are processed, the scale of the new policy could change that drastically.

Lawyers say long-term residents now targeted

Under current law, immigrants convicted of serious crimes like murder are already held without bond. Recently, theft-related crimes were added to that list after the killing of Laken Riley, a nursing student in Georgia, by a Venezuelan man previously arrested for shoplifting. Now, immigration lawyers say the Trump administration is expanding detention rules originally meant for recent arrivals to include long-time US residents, many of whom have American children and legal arguments against deportation.

Detaining them in remote centres, such as swamps in Florida or desert areas in Arizona, could limit their access to family, lawyers and the resources needed to fight their cases. Many will be unable to work or build legal defences.

Currently, ICE is detaining around 56,000 immigrants each day and has reopened family detention centres that were previously closed under the Biden administration due to safety concerns. Officers are reportedly working overtime to meet Trump’s target of deporting one million people in his first year back in office.