Trump asks Supreme Court to review immigration detention

The Trump administration has asked the U.S. Supreme Court to resolve a nationwide legal conflict over whether federal authorities can detain immigrants who entered the country unlawfully without offering them a bond hearing, even if they have lived in the United States for years. Solicitor General John Sauer filed a petition with the court on Friday, June 26, seeking to overturn a May ruling by the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals that struck down the policy.

The administration’s request follows more than 9,300 adverse rulings from federal district court judges against the detention practice since it was implemented in July 2025. The policy, enacted by the Department of Homeland Security and the Department of Justice, reversed a long-standing interpretation of immigration law. It declared that individuals who entered illegally are considered “applicants for admission” under Section 1225 of the Immigration and Nationality Act and are therefore subject to mandatory detention throughout their removal proceedings, with no opportunity for a bond hearing before an immigration judge.

This reinterpretation has produced a sharp split among federal appellate courts. Three circuits-the...