Federal Judge Rules Against Trump's Policy Mandating Immigrant Detention Without Bond Hearings
US judge vacates Trump's mandatory immigrant detention policy ruling.
A US federal court has dealt a significant blow to Donald Trump’s mass immigrant detention policy, ruling against a key administrative decision that had expanded mandatory detention rules. The judgment challenges the administration’s effort to hold thousands of migrants without providing bond hearings during their immigration proceedings.
US District Judge Sunshine Sykes, sitting in Riverside, vacated a ruling by the Board of Immigration Appeals after finding the government failed to comply with her earlier order that had already declared the policy unlawful. She sharply criticised the administration’s conduct, saying officials had crossed constitutional limits.
Under existing federal immigration law, only certain “applicants for admission” to the United States are subject to mandatory detention without bond. However, the Department of Homeland Security last year broadened this interpretation, arguing that even some non-citizens already living inside the country could be treated as applicants for admission — a move that significantly expanded detention powers.
The immigration appeals board had endorsed that interpretation in September, prompting immigration judges nationwide to order mandatory detention in more cases. But Judge Sykes had earlier ruled the policy unlawful and has now taken the stronger step of vacating the board’s decision after guidance from Chief Immigration Judge Teresa Riley suggested judges could ignore her previous ruling.
The Department of Justice and DHS have not immediately commented on the latest decision. The ruling is expected to have wide implications for ongoing immigration enforcement actions and could limit the administration’s ability to detain migrants without bond hearings while their cases proceed.
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