Appeals court blocks ICE from holding migrants in detention without bail for more than 90 days

Thousands of immigrants detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) have regained the opportunity to seek release on bond after a federal appeals court ruling on Thursday limited the detention policy pursued by President Donald Trump’s administration. The court concluded that holding someone in custody for more than 90 days without a hearing and the opportunity to request bond violates constitutional due process protections.

The 2-1 decision by the U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals could benefit thousands of people held in detention centers across Texas, Louisiana and Mississippi, the states under the court’s jurisdiction. The majority found that while the government may detain certain immigrants as their deportation proceedings move forward, the Constitution requires that those held for prolonged periods be given an opportunity to seek their release through a bond hearing.

Writing for the majority, Judge Leslie Southwick said the Constitution protects the fundamental rights of everyone within the United States, regardless of immigration status. “It is part of the historic majesty of this long-ago founding charter that it makes no exceptions in providing basic rights to those within our boundaries, including a right to be heard when personal liberty is taken,” Southwick wrote.

The ruling was joined by Judge James Graves. In dissent, Judge Cory Wilson argued that the decision limits Congress’ authority over immigration policy and that Supreme Court precedent does not require the government to provide bond hearings in these cases.

The litigation stemmed from a reinterpretation of immigration law adopted by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) in 2025. For decades, mandatory detention without bond had been applied primarily to people apprehended while entering the country or shortly after crossing the border. However, the Trump administration expanded that interpretation to include immigrants arrested within the United States, even if they had lived in the country for years or decades while facing deportation proceedings. The Board of Immigration Appeals, which is part of the Justice Department, later adopted that interpretation, allowing immigration judges to order mandatory detention without the possibility of seeking release on bond.

The Fifth Circuit did not strike down that interpretation of immigration law, but it ruled that detentions lasting longer than 90 days require the government to provide immigrants with an opportunity to seek release through a bond hearing. The judges also declined to specify how those hearings should be conducted or what legal standards should apply in deciding whether someone may be released, noting that those questions will likely be resolved through future litigation.

What impact could the ruling have?

The decision could immediately affect hundreds of pending cases in Texas and thousands of immigrants detained within the Fifth Circuit’s jurisdiction, one of the regions with the largest concentration of immigration detention facilities in the country.

In its decision, the majority noted that many of the immigrants affected by the mandatory detention policy have no criminal records and have established ties to communities in the United States, factors that reduce the risk that they would flee or pose a danger to the public.

The Department of Homeland Security said it disagrees with the ruling and remains confident in the legality of its interpretation of the mandatory detention statute.

The legal fight, however, is far from over. The Trump administration has already asked the U.S. Supreme Court to review a separate case involving the same policy, setting the stage for the nation’s highest court to ultimately decide the scope of mandatory immigration detention and the constitutional protections available to immigrants awaiting deportation proceedings.

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