Fifth Circuit: immigrants detained by ICE have no constitutional right to bond, in 10-7 ruling
New Orleans — The full U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit ruled Friday that immigrants detained while facing deportation proceedings have no constitutional right to seek release on bond, even if they have lived in the country for years, in a decision adopted by 10 votes to 7.
Judge Cory Wilson, who wrote the majority opinion, held that if an immigrant has not been legally admitted to the United States, he or she has only the rights Congress set out in immigration laws, adding that anyone who wishes to leave detention “can do so at any moment by agreeing to leave the country.”
The case arose from three men arrested by Texas state troopers during traffic stops between November 2025 and February 2026 and handed over to ICE agents: Ignacio Sosnava Rodriguez, Miguel Angel Gomez Alvarado and Alejandro Villegas Angel. According to the record, all three had lived in the country for at least 14 years, worked and have U.S. citizen children. Federal judges had ordered their release, finding that holding them without a hearing violated due process, and the government appealed.
The ruling reverses those orders and backs the policy announced in July 2025, under which anyone arrested by ICE has no right to bond regardless of how long they have lived in the country. The decision is binding in Texas, Louisiana and Mississippi, the states under the Fifth Circuit, but its reach is broader because the government has transferred many detainees from other states to facilities in Texas.
The dissent, led by Judge Leslie Southwick, warned that the ruling raises “an impenetrable wall between the Constitution and these long-term residents.” Rebecca Cassler, an attorney with the American Immigration Council who argued the case, said the right to due process “is a fundamental constitutional protection” and that after the ruling “it is hollow for immigrants in Texas, Louisiana and Mississippi.”
The Department of Homeland Security hailed the decision as a “big win,” while attorney Gracie Willis of the National Immigration Project, which represents the three men, said her organization is still assessing whether to appeal to the Supreme Court. That court agreed this month to hear a different but related case, though only on whether the law — not the Constitution — requires the hearings.
According to ProPublica, since January 2025 immigrants have filed more than 89,000 habeas corpus petitions challenging their detention, more than in the previous three administrations combined.
Photo: Nik / Unsplash
Source: Reuters