Saved copy of
Detention of Applicants for Admission
U.S. Customs and Border Protection · 2025-07-10
The saved file is a PDF document of 0.3 MB. What follows is the text taken from it, which is the text the story quotes.
1300 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
a Washington, DC 20229
, Ww U.S. Customs and
JUL 1 0 2025 oy Border Protection
Commissioner
MEMORANDUM FOR: Diane J. Sabatino
Acting Executive Assistant Commissioner
Office of Field Operations
Michael W. Banks
Chief
U.S. Border Patrol
Jonathan P. Miller
Executive Assistant Commissioner
Air and Marine Operation “he.
a
FROM: Rodney S. Scott
Commissioner
SUBJECT: Detention of Applicants for Admission
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS)’s authority to detain, and its authority or lack of
authority to release, an alien from immigration detention varies based upon the circumstances of
the case. This memorandum serves as notice that DHS, in coordination with the Department of
Justice (DOJ), has revisited its legal position on detention and release authorities. DHS has
determined that section 235 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA), rather than section
236, is the applicable immigration detention authority for all applicants for admission.
An “applicant for admission” is an 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 of arrival. INA §
235(a)(1). This includes all aliens who are encountering DHS for the first time, regardless of
when or where that first encounter occurs. Effective immediately, it is the position of DHS
that applicants for admission are subject to mandatory detention under INA § 235(b) and
may not be released from DHS custody except by INA § 212(d)(5) parole. For custody
purposes, these aliens are now treated in the same manner that “arriving aliens” have historically
been treated. The only aliens eligible for a custody determination and release on recognizance,
bond, or conditional parole under INA § 236(a) are aliens admitted to the United States and
chargeable with deportability under INA § 237, with the exception of those subject to mandatory
detention under INA § 236(c).
Use of the Warrant of Arrest (I-200), Notice of Custody Determination (I-286), and Release on
Own Recognizance (I-220A) will no longer be an option for applicants for admission.
Applicants for admission will be detained under INA § 235(b) unless parole under INA §
212(d)(5) is appropriate.