President Donald Trump’s administration has shifted the approach to immigration enforcement, moving away from the Democratic “catch-and-release” policy, now insisting that immigrants be detained until their asylum claims are processed.
According to immigration lawyers, this policy affects millions of migrants who have entered the U.S. through the Mexico border in recent decades, even during the Biden administration.
In a memo dated July 8, Todd M. Lyon, acting director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, instructed officers to detain immigrants “during the period of removal proceedings.”
Previously, immigrants living in the U.S. were often allowed to request a bond hearing and potentially be released in front of an immigration judge. Lyon noted that the Trump administration’s Department of Homeland Security and Justice had “reviewed its legal position on detention and release authorities,” concluding that many immigrants “may not be released from ICE custody.” While there are rare circumstances where release is possible, it’s up to immigration officers rather than judges, he wrote.
The turnaround in policy comes alongside a significant budget allocation—nearly $50 billion—for detention facilities over the next four years, which this funding will enable these centers to detain a larger number of migrants and proceed with deportations, irrespective of additional crimes.
This change underscores a thorough and determined initiative by Trump’s representatives, aimed at fulfilling campaign promises, eradicating illegal immigration, and enhancing job opportunities and wages for Americans.
The “catch-and-release” policy originated from the 2010 “Morton Memo” during Barack Obama’s presidency. This approach, which flouted federal law, permitted immigrants to work while awaiting asylum hearings, enabling them to pay off debts to smugglers, or “coyotes,” irrespective of the strength of their claims.
This earlier policy effectively encouraged economic migration, offering migrants a means to repay such debts and cover the expenses incurred in the process of reaching the U.S.
Consequently, a substantial flow of immigrants has emerged, allowing them to send money back to their home countries. This economic dynamic has often gone unrecognized by much of the media, which tends to emphasize immigrant-related issues.
Since 2010, this hidden economic mechanism has permitted around 15 million migrants to integrate into American workplaces and communities. However, this influx has also triggered stagnating wages and rising housing costs, creating an environment conducive to various social issues. These challenges arguably played a role in Trump’s electoral success in November.
Alejandro Mayorkas, who has worked under both Obama and Biden, has been a proponent of the catch-and-release policy, engaging with business interests in West Coast economic circles.
While Democrats’ immigration strategies have led to serious issues for many individuals, these problems often remain obscured by compliant media outlets.
Mayorkas has defended the policy as a means of stimulating economic growth.
In Trump’s first term, attempts to reverse prior policies faced significant obstacles, including a lack of necessary funding from Congress.
The Supreme Court has dismissed enforcement of Congress’s immigration mandates amid the significant fallout from previous strategies, as seen in a decision from June 2022, where the majority opinion noted that there was no need to question whether the detention requirements align with legal enforcement discretion.
Trump’s new policy is expected to have negative repercussions for groups that benefit from cartel-controlled migration.
Since the issuance of the memo last week, the American Immigration Bar Association reported that numerous immigrants have been denied bond hearings across various immigration courts in states like New York, Virginia, and Georgia, overseen by the Justice Department.
“This is effectively a way to implement a nationwide strategy for detaining more individuals,” commented Greg Chen, senior director of government relations at the American Association of Immigration Bar Associations. “We are looking at a situation where many more people are detained without careful evaluation of their individual circumstances.”
