Fifth Circuit Rejects Bond Hearings for Three Detainees

The Fifth Circuit ruled 10-7 on October 23 that the Constitution does not require individualized bond hearings for three detained men while their removal proceedings are pending, reversing lower-court orders that had granted them relief. The full court concluded that the men, who entered the United States without inspection and had not been lawfully admitted, were not constitutionally entitled to hearings assessing whether they posed a danger or flight risk. The decision addressed the Fifth Amendment question, not whether federal immigration law requires detention for the broader category covered by the administration’s policy. The case involved three men who had lived in the United States for years before they were detained. Lower courts had ordered their release or required bond hearings and restricted the government from detaining them again without those proceedings. The en banc ruling reversed that relief. The court also concluded that the length of detention in these cases did not warrant habeas relief on constitutional grounds. Judge Cory Wilson wrote the majority opinion. Seven judges dissented. Judge Priscilla Richman agreed with the outcome but not the majority’s...