A divided federal appeals panel ruled that DHS may lawfully deny bond hearings to many individuals in removal proceedings, rejecting hundreds of district court decisions that found the policy unlawful.
By yourNEWS Media Newsroom
A federal appeals court has upheld the Department of Homeland Security’s mandatory detention policy, giving the Trump administration a second major legal victory in as many days and marking the first time an appellate court has endorsed the policy amid extensive opposition from lower courts.
According to Courthouse News, a divided panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit ruled Friday that the administration may lawfully deny bond hearings to many individuals placed in deportation proceedings, even though more than 300 federal judges have ruled the policy illegal.
The conservative majority overturned federal judges in two separate cases, departing from nearly 30 years of immigration policy that limited mandatory detention of “applicants for admission” to individuals detained at ports of entry or shortly after crossing the border. Under the administration’s interpretation, individuals already living in the United States—including those who were paroled into the country—may be treated as applicants for admission and held without the opportunity to seek release on bond.
“In contrast to past administrations, the current administration has chosen to exercise a greater portion of its authority by treating applicants for admission under the provision designed to apply to them,” Judge Edith Jones wrote for the majority.
The ruling centers on a July 2025 memorandum issued by Immigration and Customs Enforcement directing that all illegal immigrants in deportation proceedings be subject to mandatory detention. Under the memo, bond hearings are preserved only for immigrants who were legally admitted to the United States and later lost lawful status. The policy applies to all illegal immigrants, including those who entered unlawfully and those who were paroled into the country.
The ICE directive prompted a surge of habeas corpus petitions in federal courts challenging the legality of the detention framework. To date, more than 300 federal judges have ruled that the mandatory detention policy violates immigration law, creating a broad judicial split that the Fifth Circuit became the first appellate court to address.
Following the decision, DHS Secretary Kristi Noem praised the ruling in a post on X.
“For months, activist judges have ordered the release of alien after alien based on the false claim that DHS was breaking the law,” she wrote. “Today, the first court of appeals to address the question ruled that DHS was right all along.”
The Fifth Circuit ruling establishes binding precedent within its jurisdiction and intensifies the divide between appellate authority and hundreds of district court decisions that have blocked the policy elsewhere, increasing the likelihood of further appellate review.