MIAMI (WSVN) - South Florida communities are on edge after the Trump administration revealed a concerning memo, confirming that immigrants detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement can now be deported from the country with as little as six hours’ notice.
As many immigrants in the region are in legal limbo, ICE has been authorized to expedite the deportation process for all detained non-citizens, including long-term US residents. The new memo also allows ICE agents to deport migrants to countries that are not their native land with only 24 hours’ notice, even if those countries offer no guarantee of safety.
The policy was laid out in a memo by the acting director of ICE, Todd Lyons, expanding the controversial use of third-country deportations.
“We have the highest detention standards out of any other prison system in the United States. ICE standards are the highest,” he said last week. “This new facility is a great one. What it’s doing for us is that ICE doesn’t detain punitively. We detain to remove people. We don’t want to have people in custody. We want to get people back to their home countries safely and humanely after they’re ordered deported.”
In the past immigrants were able to request a bond hearing before an immigration judge. Now, according to the memo, they will no longer be eligible, allowing officers to hold detainees until the remainder of their removal proceedings.
The new development comes after ICE was granted a record of $45 billion over the next four years.
According to immigration advocates, the short time period renders it nearly impossible to gather a proper defense, effectively denying due process.
Florida Congresswoman Maria Elvira Salazar introduced the Dignity Immigration Act in response, which would protect those who have been in the country for over five years.
“They did break the law,” she said. “They are illegal. They are undocumented. But they have been here for over five years contributing to the economy. No path to citizenship in my law. No amnesty. No path, ever. Just bring them out of the shadows and make them pay a fine for seven years. That is billions of dollars to the treasury. No federal programs. No health insurance. Then, they can go back home for Christmas. They can come back, continue working, and continue contributing to the economy.”
Democratic lawmakers who toured Alligator Alcatraz in the Everglades, are also calling for its closure. They raised concerns about food quality, drinking water, and high temperature, saying the detainees were packed into cages.
“They get their drinking water, and they brush their teeth where they poop, in the same unit,” said Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz.
Florida’s Attorney General James Uthmeier, one of the main architects of the facility, defended its conditions, as well as the quality of life for detainees.
“It’s probably nicer than most of the jails and facilities in Florida, and it doesn’t have to be,” he said.
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