ICE bars immigrants who entered U.S. illegally from getting bond hearings

Under new Trump administration guidance, millions of immigrants who entered the U.S. without legal authorization would have to fight their deportation cases in detention.

The Trump administration wants to make millions of immigrants who entered the United States without legal authorization ineligible for bond hearings. This means they would need to remain in immigration detention as they fight deportation proceedings in court, which can take months and in some cases years.

A U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement spokesperson told NBC News in an email Tuesday that the recently issued guidance "closes a loophole" in immigration law that had long been applied mostly to detain those who had recently arrived at the U.S.-Mexico border.

“All aliens seeking to enter our country in an unlawful manner or for illicit purposes shall be treated equally under the law, while still receiving due process,” the ICE spokesperson wrote. “It is aligned with the nation’s long-standing immigration law.”

The Washington Post first reported about the new ICE memo instructing immigration officials to keep immigrants detained “for the duration of their removal proceedings.”

“I don’t think it’s beyond anyone’s notice that we are starting to see policies to keep people detained and keep people detained longer,” Vanessa Dojaquez-Torres, practice and policy counsel at the American Immigration Lawyers Association, told NBC News.