Fifth Circuit Ruling on Due Process and Immigration Detention

This 2026 Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals ruling addresses the mandatory detention of three noncitizens who lived in the United States for over a decade despite never being lawfully admitted. The Department of Homeland Security argued that under 8 U.S.C. § 1225, these individuals must be detained without bond throughout their removal proceedings. However, the court's majority held that the Fifth Amendment's Due Process Clause protects all persons within the country’s borders regardless of their legal status. The judges concluded that the government cannot hold residents for more than 90 days without a bond hearing to assess their dangerousness or flight risk. While the ruling does not halt their actual deportations, it confirms that physical presence and established community ties entitle individuals to basic constitutional protections against indefinite imprisonment. A dissenting judge argued that Congress's plenary authority over immigration should allow for mandatory detention without extra-statutory hearings for those never officially admitted.