Original Date Announced

ICE issues the 2019 National Detention Standards (NDS), which supersede the 2000 version. These revised NDS eliminate or greatly reduce a number of prior standards, including for “Emergency Plans; Marriage Requests; Non-Medical Emergency Escorted Trips; Contraband; Population Counts; Key and Lock Control; and Tool Control.” Per ICE, “descriptions of ICE’s responsibilities and commitments to its detainees have been removed throughout.” The standards apply to only some ICE jails: "the approximately 45 Intergovernmental Service Agreement (IGSA) facilities currently operating under the [2000] NDS, approximately 35 United States Marshals Service (USMS) facilities used by ICE and which ICE inspects against the NDS, as well as approximately 60 facilities (both IGSA and USMS) which do not reach the threshold for ICE annual inspections – generally those with an Average Daily Population of less than 10." [ID #448]

Subsequent Trump and Court Action

2025.07.02 ICE - Directive 11064.4: Detention and Removal of Alien Parents and Legal Guardians of Minor Children

ICE issued Directive 11064.4, "Detention and Removal of Alien Parents and the Legal Guardians of Minor Children." This directive supersedes ICE Directive 11064.3, "Interests of Noncitizen Parents or Legal Guardians or Incapacitated Adults," which was issued July 14, 2022 by the Biden Administration.

The directive states that it is “ICE policy to ensure that the agency’s enforcement actions do not unnecessarily infringe upon the legal parental or guardianship rights and obligations of Covered Individuals.” Among other things, the new directive does not include the primary caretakers of incapacitated adults as Covered Individuals. ICE also removed the provisions requiring a custody review upon notification of child welfare or guardianship proceedings involving a detained Covered Individual and requiring ICE to work with child welfare agencies where a Covered Individual is ordered to participate in services, programs, or trainings prior to maintaining or regaining custody of their minor child(ren). Also absent from the new directive is the provision requiring ICE to review a Covered Individual's case prior to their removal "to assess whether [they have] had the opportunity to request reunification before removal, make alternative care arrangements . . . , or if there are any ongoing family court or child welfare or guardianship proceedings that may be adversely impacted by the Covered Individual's removal." The new directive does not include the "Facilitation of Return" or "Outreach" sections that were part of the 2022 directive.

For additional information and further updates regarding this change, please see this Trump 2.0 entry.