A federal appeals court has affirmed the Trump administration’s policy of detaining certain immigrants without bond hearings, a significant legal victory for the federal immigration agenda that counters several lower court rulings.
On Friday evening, a panel of the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the Department of Homeland Security’s practice of denying bond hearings to immigrants arrested nationwide is consistent with the Constitution and federal immigration law.
In a 2-1 majority opinion, Circuit Judge Edith H. Jones wrote that the government correctly interpreted the Immigration and Nationality Act, asserting it mandates that “unadmitted aliens apprehended anywhere in the United States are ineligible for release on bond, regardless of how long they have resided inside the United States.”
This ruling upends a long-standing practice. Under previous administrations, most noncitizens with no criminal record who were arrested away from the border had an opportunity to request a bond hearing while their cases proceeded.
Historically, bond was often granted to those without criminal convictions who were not deemed flight risks, with mandatory detention typically reserved for recent border crossers.
By James Kisoo
