The US Court of Appeals for the fifth circuit officially ruled on Friday, February, that the Trump administration’s policy of placing people in mandatory detention decisions without bond hearings is constitutional.
The recent decision reverses lower court rulings. The ruling by a conservative 2-1 panel of the New Orleans-based 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals marked the first time an appeals court has sustained the policy, which came despite hundreds of lower-court judges declaring it unlawful.
Meanwhile, US Attorney General Pam Bondi acclaimed the ruling on social media, calling it a “significant blow against activist judges who have been undermining our efforts to make America safe again at every turn.”
The ruling is anticipated to impact thousands of people as the court’s jurisdiction covers Texas and Louisiana, which are dotted with detention centers and house the immigration detainees.
According to Reuters, the US Department of Homeland Security last year adopted the position that immigrants already residing in the United States- and not only those who arrive at a port of entry-are subject to the mandatory detention policy.
A significant decision issued in September requires immigration judges nationwide to order mandatory detention.
According to US Circuit Judge Edith Jones the administration’s interpretation of the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 was correct.
The text further says that regardless of the decisions of prior administrations, she wrote for the panel’s majority, which included two judges appointed by Republican presidents.
Consequently, this ruling could result in detention without bond of up to two million people.
