3rd Circuit Court invalidates ICE's expanded mandatory detention rule
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The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 3rd Circuit ruled that ICE's policy allowing mandatory detention without bond for long-term residents violates immigration law and the Constitution's due-process protections.
A federal appeals court has struck down a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) policy that permitted mandatory detention without bond for migrants who have lived in the United States for many years. The 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said the rule conflicts with the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996, which maintains separate detention tracks for recent arrivals and for those already in the country.
The court noted that before the 1996 law, non-citizens arriving were subject to mandatory detention, while those already present could obtain bond. It found ICE’s expanded policy to be inconsistent with that statutory framework.
"Contrary to the Government's view, the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 ('IIRIRA') retained two tracks for detention even though it overhauled the procedures for removing noncitizens from the United States," the decision read.
The panel also concluded that the policy breaches the Fifth Amendment's Due Process Clause, which the Supreme Court has applied to all persons in the United States, regardless of immigration status.
"Because Petitioners here have lived in the United States for decades, they have 'established connections' in the country and are entitled to due process rights beyond those provided to noncitizens at the border," the court wrote.
This marks the eighth appellate rejection of ICE’s similar detention approach, with judges overturning the agency in more than 90% of over 13,000 cases challenging the policy.