Notes on the New ICE Detention Memo I Haven’t Seen
It’s been nearly three decades, but application of the INA is catching up to the letter of the law
By Andrew R. Arthur on August 1, 2025
On July 15, the Washington Post reported that acting ICE Director Todd Lyons issued a memo “declar[ing] that immigrants who arrived in the United States illegally are no longer eligible for a bond hearing as they fight deportation proceedings in court”. The Post didn’t link to the memo (which apparently has not been publicly released), but here is what I believe underpins that “no release” mandate. Long story short: application of the detention mandates in the INA has finally caught up to the letter of the law.
The Statutory Detention Mandates for Alien “Applicants for Admission”
Under section 235(a)(1) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA), any alien “present in the United States who has not been admitted or who arrives in the United States (whether or not at a designated port. . . )” is deemed an “applicant for admission”.
Section 235(a)(3) of the INA, in turn, provides that, “All aliens . . . who are applicants for admission or otherwise seeking admission or readmission to or transit through the United States shall be inspected by immigration officers.”
The takeaway from those two provisions is that the INA considers every alien who comes to the United States – even those who enter illegally – to be seeking lawful admission (even if they have actively evaded immigration officers and continue to do so) until they are either lawfully admitted or removed.
Congress is clear in two separate provisions of section 235(b)(1) of the INA that arriving aliens subject to expedited removal must be detained until they are either admitted or removed.
https://cis.org/Arthur/Notes-New-ICE-Detention-Memo-I-Havent-Seen
