A federal appeals court on Friday stripped due process rights from hundreds of immigrants held by Immigration and Custom Enforcement.
In a 10–7 en banc decision, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that ICE detainees with pending immigration hearings are not entitled to receive a bond hearing, where a judge could assess their dangerousness and flight risk, regardless of how long they have been in detention.
The decision blocks efforts by federal judges who have been ordering the release of hundreds of immigrants—many of whom have no criminal record and have deep ties to the United States—held without bond by ICE’s mass deportation policy.
After the Fifth Circuit upheld ICE’s policy in February, other federal judges discovered that they were able to argue that detention violated immigrants’ constitutional due process rights. In the past year, judges have ruled against detentions without bond more than 21,150 times. The Fifth Circuit has now choked off that legal argument.
The case will likely head to the Supreme Court, which is set to decide on a number of immigration reform cases in the coming term.