SouthernWorldwide.com – A federal appeals court has ruled that the Trump administration cannot detain immigrants for more than 90 days without offering them a chance to seek release on bond during their deportation proceedings.
The Fifth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals issued a 2-1 decision against the administration. This ruling could impact thousands of immigrants detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in states under the court’s jurisdiction, including Texas and Louisiana.
Writing for the majority, Judge Leslie Southwick referenced a 2001 Supreme Court decision. This decision affirmed that the due process clause extends protections to everyone within U.S. borders, including the two Mexican citizens and one Honduran whose cases were central to this appeal.
“It is part of the historic majesty of this long-ago founding charter that it makes no exceptions in providing basic rights to those within our boundaries, including a right to be heard when personal liberty is taken,” Southwick stated in his written opinion.
In his dissent, Judge Cory Wilson argued that the majority’s decision “marginalizes the Constitution’s express grant of plenary authority over immigration matters to Congress.”
Previously, a different panel from the same court had been the first nationally to support the administration’s new interpretation of a federal immigration statute. This interpretation allowed for the mandatory detention of non-citizens residing in the U.S.
However, that earlier ruling in February did not address whether the Fifth Amendment’s due process protections mandate that immigrants be given an opportunity to seek bond release by appearing before an immigration judge.
Rebecca Cassler, an attorney representing the migrants from the American Immigration Council, expressed her group’s satisfaction. She stated, “We are delighted that the panel recognized the core constitutional principle that the due process clause does not allow the government to lock them away indefinitely.”
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) conveyed its disagreement with the ruling. A statement to the press indicated that DHS remains “confident in its legal position regarding mandatory detention.”
Just last week, the administration had requested the Supreme Court to review a similar ruling made by another appeals court.
Federal immigration law stipulates that “applicants for admission” into the country are subject to mandatory detention while their cases are processed in immigration courts. This designation typically makes them ineligible for bond hearings.
Despite a long-standing understanding of immigration law, DHS asserted last year that non-citizens already present in the U.S. could be considered “applicants for admission.” This interpretation expanded the scope of mandatory detention beyond individuals arriving at the border.
The Board of Immigration Appeals, which operates under the Department of Justice, announced in September that it had adopted DHS’s broader interpretation.
Following this adoption, immigration judges employed by the department began implementing mandatory detention orders across the nation.
