US appeals court rejects Trump expansion of mandatory migrant detention

The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has rejected the Trump administration's policy of mandatory detention for immigrants, ruling that detained noncitizens must be afforded the opportunity to seek release on bond. The San Francisco-based court issued its decision by a vote of two to one, with one judge appointed by Trump joining the majority.

The ruling reflects a growing divide among federal appeals courts regarding the administration's detention approach. Four other circuit courts have similarly rejected the policy, while the Fifth Circuit in New Orleans and the Eighth Circuit in St. Louis have sided with the government. This expanding disagreement among the circuits has prompted the administration to request that the U.S. Supreme Court review the matter, which it did last month.

Under previous administrations, noncitizens arrested within the United States who lacked criminal records were generally permitted to request bond hearings while their immigration cases proceeded. Mandatory detention was typically applied only to individuals apprehended at the border. Last July, immigration officials expanded mandatory detention to apply to immigrants in the interior of the country as part of the administration's mass deportation initiative, triggering numerous federal lawsuits from detained immigrants seeking release.

The Trump administration has argued that Congress modified immigration law in 1996 to authorize mandatory detention beyond the border, though previous administrations did not enforce this provision. Writing for the majority, Judge Daniel Bress, a Trump appointee, rejected this interpretation, stating that the historical understanding of the statute better supports the requirement for bond hearings. The Department of Homeland Security responded by expressing strong disagreement with the ruling and confidence in its legal position.