Fifth Circuit Rejects Bond Hearing Right for Three Detainees

The en banc U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit ruled October 23 that three immigration detainees were not constitutionally entitled to individual bond hearings while removal proceedings were pending, reversing lower-court orders that had granted them relief. The 10-7 decision applies to people classified under a specific federal provision as applicants for admission, not to everyone held by Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The petitioners, two Mexican nationals and one Honduran national, had lived in the United States for years without having been admitted. They sought hearings at which immigration authorities would assess whether they posed a danger or flight risk. Lower courts had ordered hearings and granted relief; the full appeals court reversed and vacated those orders. The majority concluded that the Constitution did not require additional individualized proceedings beyond those established by Congress for people covered by the provision, Section 1225(b)(2)(A) of the Immigration and Nationality Act. That provision requires detention during removal proceedings for certain applicants for admission who are not clearly entitled to enter. The ruling’s reach...