Trump ends 'catch and release' policy, will jail immigrants awaiting court hearings


President Trump signed a memo Friday evening ordering the end of a policy colloquially known as "catch and release," in which some illegal immigrants are not detained while they await asylum or deportation hearings, a process that can take years.
The U.S. only has space to detain 40,000 immigrants at a time, and the order directs the Pentagon to determine whether there are military buildings that could be used for this purpose. It asks Defense Secretary James Mattis to compile "a detailed list of all existing facilities, including military facilities, that could be used, modified, or repurposed to detain aliens for violations of immigration law at or near the borders of the United States."
Immigrants released under this program were those not deemed to be dangerous or a flight risk, including children and people seeking asylum. The White House described the change as a necessary security measure. "The safety and security of the American people is the president's highest priority," said White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders, "and he will keep his promise to protect our country and to ensure that our laws are respected."
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Bonnie Kristian was a deputy editor and acting editor-in-chief of TheWeek.com. She is a columnist at Christianity Today and author of Untrustworthy: The Knowledge Crisis Breaking Our Brains, Polluting Our Politics, and Corrupting Christian Community (forthcoming 2022) and A Flexible Faith: Rethinking What It Means to Follow Jesus Today (2018). Her writing has also appeared at Time Magazine, CNN, USA Today, Newsweek, the Los Angeles Times, and The American Conservative, among other outlets.
-
5 bunker-busting cartoons about the Israel-Iran war
Cartoons Political cartoonists take on Iran waiting for Pete Hegseth to leak war plans and Donald Trump's wish for a Nobel prize
-
Malaysia's delicious food and glorious beaches
The Week Recommends From 'colourful' George Town to the 'jungled interior' of Langkawi, Malaysia is incredibly diverse
-
Is the US sliding into autocracy?
Talking Point Donald Trump's use of federal troops on home ground, dismissal of dissent and 'braggadocious' military posturing are all symptoms of a shifting political culture
-
Court allows National Guard in LA as Dodgers repel feds
Speed Read The team said they 'denied entry' to ICE agents seeking to enter their stadium
-
ICE arrests NYC comptroller at courthouse
Speed Read Brad Lander was held for about four hours before being released
-
Trump tells ICE to hit blue cities, spare farms, hotels
Speed Read Trump has targeted New York City, Chicago and Los Angeles among other cities
-
Trump's LA deployment in limbo after court rulings
Speed Read Judge Breyer ruled that Trump's National Guard deployment to Los Angeles was an 'illegal' overreach. But a federal appellate court halted the ruling.
-
Trump's LA immigration showdown casts shadow over upcoming World Cup
IN THE SPOTLIGHT Amid a massive anti-immigrant detention push, analysts have begun to worry about the United States' plan to host one of the world's biggest athletic events
-
Marines, National Guard in LA can detain Americans
speed read The troops have been authorized to detain anyone who interferes with immigration raids
-
Trump vows 'very big force' against parade protesters
Speed Read The parade, which will shut down much of the capital, will celebrate the US Army's 250th anniversary and Trump's 79th birthday
-
Is Trump's LA troop deployment about order or authoritarianism?
Talking Points President: 'We're going to have troops everywhere.'