Federal Appeals Court Overturns Trump’s Mandatory ICE Detention Policy

The 11th Circuit Court of Appeals in Miami ruled Wednesday against the Trump administration's mandatory immigration detention policy, marking a significant legal setback for the controversial measure. The decision follows similar rulings from other federal appeals courts, with two circuits now opposing the policy and two others supporting it, while one court deadlocked. The policy, implemented last year, required ICE to detain all undocumented immigrants without bond, regardless of their time in the U.S., leading to a surge in ICE detention numbers that peaked at over 70,000 earlier this year.

The case centers on the administration's reinterpretation of a 1996 immigration law, which previously allowed for bond hearings. Judge Stanley Marcus emphasized in his opinion that Congress did not grant the Executive Branch unlimited authority to detain migrants without bond. He noted that the policy's interpretation lacked support in the text, structure, and history of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA). The ruling aligns with a growing trend of federal courts rejecting the mandatory detention policy as unconstitutional.

Hundreds of federal courts have ruled against the policy since its implementation, with migrants filing habeas corpus petitions to secure their release. This legal challenge has created a backlog in immigration courts and raised questions about the policy's constitutionality. The conflicting decisions from appeals courts suggest that the Supreme Court will likely need to weigh in on the issue, potentially determining the fate of Trump’s mandatory detention policy. Meanwhile, the Department of Justice has yet to respond to the latest ruling.