Bond hearings not required for detained immigrants, court rules
GOP Congresswoman breaks with Trump over immigration
We are learning more this week after U.S. Rep. María Elvira Salazar of Florida launched a campaign ad aimed at President Donald Trump. The ad, coming ahead of the midterm elections, takes aim at the Trump admin’s strict enforcement of deportation policies. LiveNOW’s Andy Mac is learning more about the political ramifications that the GOP Representative might face as she opposes President Trump on one of his hallmark issues.
Immigrants detained in the U.S. by President Donald Trump’s administration have no constitutional right to a bond hearing, a federal appeals court ruled Friday.
According to Reuters, the ruling came out of the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans.
Fewer rights for detained migrants
What we know:
The court’s conservative majority ruled 10-7 that the due process clause of the Fifth Amendment does not apply to immigrants who are detained and seeking a bond hearing.
What they're saying:
"To the extent petitioners seek to vindicate a liberty interest to be free from physical restraint in the most abstract sense, they can do so at any moment by agreeing to leave the country," US Circuit Judge Cory Wilson, a Trump appointee, wrote.
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In a social media post, James Percival, general counsel for the US Department of Homeland Security, called the decision a "big win in the 5th Circuit on mandatory detention for illegal aliens."
A view of the front gate at the Delaney Hall Immigration Detention Center, September 12, 2026, in Newark, New Jersey. (Photo by Andrew Lichtenstein/Corbis via Getty Images)
What we don't know:
It’s unclear whether the ruling will stand; the Supreme Court has agreed to take up the issue as federal courts are flooded with lawsuits by migrants who say they’ve been unflawfully detained. Lower courts remain divided on what rights migrants should have amid the Trump administration’s aggressive immigration crackdown.
Big picture view:
If the ruling stands, detained migrants in Texas, Louisiana and Mississippi (the 5th Circuit’s jurisdiction) will have fewer avenues to lobby for their release.
Local perspective:
Texas and Louisiana house more immigrant detainees than any other state.
Family members of detained immigrants come and go during weekend visitation hours at the Delaney Hall Immigration Detention Center, September 12, 2026, in Newark, New Jersey. (Photo by Andrew Lichtenstein/Corbis via Getty Images)
‘Devastating consequences’
The other side:
"Unchecked, executive authority to arrest and detain, indefinitely, echoes fearfully from history," US Circuit Judge Dana Douglas, one of the dissenting judges, wrote in the opinion.
"This ruling opens the door to more people being locked up for no reason, with devastating consequences for them, their loved ones and their community," Ellie Norton, a lawyer for the non-US citizens in the case at the National Immigration Project, said in a statement to Reuters.
The Source: This report includes information from Reuters.