Ice Prohibits Bail for Millions of Immigrants

Last week, ICE Director Todd M. Lyons issued a memo stating that, under a new interpretation of the law, immigrants who entered the United States illegally or without permission, if placed in removal proceedings, are not eligible for release on bond regardless of when they entered the United States.

This new policy is completely contrary to what has been the practice for many years. Over the past 50 years, millions of immigrants in detention have been released on parole after paying bail to ensure their presence at upcoming immigration court hearings and to be with their families.

This new Trump policy could pose a serious problem for immigrants, not only for those already in detention simply for being in the country illegally or for non-serious crimes such as driving without a license, but worse, they will now be unable to get out on bond. Previously, the minimum bond amount was $1,500, up to the maximum amount decided by the judge, but they could be released from detention and fight their immigration cases while free.

The idea behind bail is that detainees, most of whom have no violent convictions and pose no risk to the public, can guarantee their attendance at immigration courts by depositing a certain amount of money and can continue with their lives while defending themselves against the charges.

It appears that the idea behind this memorandum is to force immigrants in deportation proceedings to give up fighting their cases and accept deportation rather than remain in jail for months or even years while an appeal is pending.

Immigration lawyers, including myself, believe that denying the right to request bail before a judge is a clear violation of due process, especially with the recently approved budget of billions of dollars that would allow for the detention of 100,000 people or more at the same time. In addition to the opening of new detention centers such as the one in Baldwin, Michigan, where they intend to hold more than 1,800 immigrants, and the mega center in Florida, the infamous Alligator Alcatraz, where they have up to 30 immigrants in a single cell.

As Greg Chen of the AILA organization said, “This is their way of implementing a nationwide method to detain even more people” and force them to accept deportation, as in the case of farmworker leader Alfredo Juárez Zeferino in Washington state, who after being detained for several months in a depressing detention center accepted his deportation and return to Mexico.

I have personally witnessed how several of my clients detained in Battle Creek and Baldwin feel so desperate, many with no criminal record, and are forced to wait day after day without knowing what will happen in their cases. They decide to accept deportation and return to their country of origin even though their situation could be dangerous, especially for immigrants seeking asylum from countries such as Venezuela, Nicaragua, Haiti, and Cuba.

Organizations that defend the rights of immigrants have already filed lawsuits trying to stop this decision, but we do not know what will happen or how long it will take. In the meantime, immigrants in this unfortunate and precarious situation remain in detention.

We must continue with the protests, putting pressure on Congress and speaking out against Trump's excesses that violate the rights of immigrants. We must also inform other Americans of the abuses that are being committed, as many still do not understand that they are locking up people who have never committed any crime and whose only offense is being in the United States without permission.