The Trump administration is initiating a plan to prevent immigrants who arrived in the US unlawfully from being released by denying them bond hearings, according to an internal memo. This shift may lead to more individuals being detained.

A section of the guidance from US Immigration and Customs Enforcement, reviewed by Reuters, suggests that this policy could impact millions of individuals who crossed the border unlawfully and are fighting their deportation.

President Donald Trump has pledged to perform extensive deportations, claiming they are necessary due to the significant rise in illegal immigration during the previous presidency of Democrat Joe Biden.

Congress passed a spending law this month that provides funding to detain at least 100,000 people, a steep increase over the record 58,000 in custody by late June.

The Washington Post first reported the new ICE policy limiting bond hearing eligibility, citing a July 8 memo by its acting director, Todd Lyons.

The guidance shared with Reuters called for ICE to interpret several immigration law provisions as “prohibitions on release” after an arrest, adding the shift in policy was “likely to be litigated.”

It encouraged ICE prosecutors “to make alternative arguments in support of continued detention” during immigration court hearings.

The new policy appeared to reverse legal standards governing detention for decades, said Tom Jawetz, a former homeland security official in the Biden administration, calling it “a radical departure that could explode the detention population.”

The US Department of Homeland Security and ICE did not immediately respond to requests for comment.