A U.S. federal appeals court has ruled that the Trump administration cannot continue holding migrants in immigration detention beyond 90 days without giving them an opportunity to seek release through a bond hearing, marking a significant constitutional setback for the administration’s immigration enforcement policies.
In a 2-1 decision, the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals held that prolonged detention without judicial review violates due process protections guaranteed under the U.S. Constitution. The ruling is expected to impact thousands of migrants held by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in Texas, Louisiana and other states within the court’s jurisdiction.
The decision comes months after another panel of the same court upheld the administration’s interpretation of federal immigration law, which expanded the category of migrants subject to mandatory detention. However, that earlier ruling did not examine whether such detention could continue indefinitely without an opportunity for a bond hearing.
Writing for the majority, Judge Leslie Southwick emphasized that constitutional safeguards extend to every person within U.S. borders, regardless of immigration status. He observed that the Fifth Amendment’s guarantee of due process does not permit the government to deprive individuals of their liberty without first providing them a meaningful chance to be heard.
Southwick stressed that the Constitution’s protections are not limited by nationality, pointing out that the case involved two Mexican nationals and one Honduran citizen challenging their continued detention.
Judge Cory Wilson disagreed with the majority, arguing in dissent that the ruling intrudes upon Congress’ broad constitutional authority over immigration policy. He maintained that the court had improperly limited the government’s power in matters involving immigration detention.
Lawyers representing the migrants welcomed the judgment, calling it an affirmation of a basic constitutional principle that the government cannot imprison individuals indefinitely without judicial oversight.
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security, which oversees ICE, said it disagrees with the decision and remains confident that its legal interpretation of mandatory detention will ultimately prevail. The department also noted that it has already asked the U.S. Supreme Court to resolve conflicting rulings issued by different federal appeals courts on the same legal question.
At the center of the dispute is the administration’s interpretation of federal immigration law. Traditionally, mandatory detention applied primarily to people seeking entry into the United States. The Department of Homeland Security, however, adopted a broader reading last year, arguing that certain non-citizens already living in the country should also be treated as “applicants for admission,” making them ineligible for bond hearings while their immigration cases remain pending.
That interpretation was later endorsed by the Board of Immigration Appeals, prompting immigration judges nationwide to order mandatory detention in a wider range of cases.
Federal appellate courts have since split over whether that reading of the law is valid, setting the stage for the Supreme Court to decide the issue. Until then, the latest ruling from the 5th Circuit establishes that, within its jurisdiction, migrants cannot remain in mandatory immigration detention for more than 90 days without being given an opportunity to request release before an immigration judge.
