The US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit has ruled that certain immigrants who entered the country without lawful admission can be detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) without bond hearings throughout their deportation proceedings, backing the Trump administration's expanded detention policy in a divided decision on October 23.

The 10–7 ruling overturned lower court orders that had required the government to provide individual bond hearings to three immigrants detained by ICE. The full appeals court held that federal immigration law allows mandatory detention for people covered by the relevant provision while their removal proceedings remain pending.ICE posted the announcement on X, declaring that immigrants arrested by the agency could be detained without bond throughout their removal proceedings.

The ruling applies within the Fifth Circuit's jurisdiction, which covers Texas, Louisiana and Mississippi.

Raja Krishnamoorthi warns of rising anti-Indian hate on social media, calls for Big Tech accountabilityCourt backs detention without bond hearingsThe case involved three immigrants who had lived in the US for years without being lawfully admitted. They challenged their detention, arguing that holding them without individual hearings to assess whether they posed a danger to the public or were likely to flee violated their constitutional rights.

Federal district courts initially ruled in their favor, ordering the government to provide bond hearings. A three-judge panel of the Fifth Circuit upheld those decisions in July 2026, requiring the government to provide hearings within 90 days. However, the full appeals court reconsidered the cases and reversed the earlier rulings.

The majority relied on the Immigration and Nationality Act, which requires detention for certain applicants for admission who are not clearly entitled to enter the US.

The court concluded that the provision does not require immigration authorities to offer individual bond hearings to people detained under it.US State Department rejects report of foreign service officers' loyalty to Trump being tested before promotionThe decision does not mean every person arrested by ICE must be held without bond. Its scope depends on the applicable immigration law and the circumstances of the detention. Seven judges oppose the decisionSeven judges dissented, raising concerns about the constitutional protections available to immigrants held in prolonged detention without an opportunity to seek release.

The legal dispute centers on whether the government can classify immigrants apprehended inside the country as applicants for admission and subject them to mandatory detention, rather than allowing them to seek bond under a separate provision of federal law. The Trump administration has defended its interpretation as consistent with the Immigration and Nationality Act. Ruling marks setback for detained immigrantsThe decision represents a significant victory for the administration's efforts to expand immigration detention. For immigrants covered by the ruling in Texas, Louisiana and Mississippi, the government no longer needs to provide individual bond hearings under the provision at issue.

The ruling does not resolve every legal challenge to mandatory detention nationwide. Separate challenges to the administration's interpretation of immigration law continue, leaving the broader scope of detention without bond subject to further judicial review.