Ninth Circuit Rejects Trump Mandatory Detention Policy as Bond Fight Widens
A federal appeals court ruled Thursday that the Trump administration cannot categorically deny immigrants detained inside the United States a chance to seek release on bond while their immigration cases move forward.
The 2–1 decision from the San Francisco based Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals rejected the administration’s expanded mandatory detention policy and added pressure to a dispute that is increasingly likely to reach the Supreme Court. Four other appeals courts have rejected the policy, while the Fifth Circuit and Eighth Circuit have sided with the administration.
The dispute centers on whether federal immigration law allows the government to treat people arrested inside the United States the same way it treats people detained at the border. Under previous administrations, many noncitizens without criminal records who were arrested inside the country could seek a bond hearing while removal proceedings were pending. Mandatory detention was generally reserved for people arrested at the border.
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The Trump administration argued that Congress changed the law in 1996 to allow broader mandatory detention. Judge Daniel Bress, a Trump appointee, wrote for the majority and rejected that interpretation. Judge Carlos Bea dissented, saying the 1996 amendment supports the administration’s reading.
The Department of Homeland Security said it strongly disagrees with the Ninth Circuit panel and remains confident in its legal position. Immigrant rights groups, including the ACLU and Northwest Immigrant Rights Project, praised the ruling as a restoration of bond hearing access.
The ruling does not guarantee release for detainees. It means affected immigrants can ask an immigration judge to consider whether detention is justified based on factors such as flight risk and public safety.
The next major step is likely Supreme Court review because federal appeals courts are now divided on the same core question.
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