3rd Circuit Court Defends Immigrant Rights, Strikes Down ICE's Oppressive Detention Rule
Select a version of the text written from a presumed ideological perspective. This is not the original text, but a hypothetical version — how someone with that viewpoint might have phrased it. Tapping the current version again will return to the original or select cleaned version.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 3rd Circuit has delivered a major victory for immigrant justice, ruling that ICE's inhumane policy of mandatory detention without bond for long-term residents is illegal and violates basic constitutional protections.
In a significant blow to the draconian immigration enforcement tactics of ICE, a federal appeals court has invalidated a policy that allowed the agency to lock up migrants who have lived in the United States for years, without even the possibility of bond. The 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals found that this harsh rule flies in the face of the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996, which was designed to distinguish between recent arrivals and those who have built lives in the country.
The court highlighted that, prior to the 1996 law, only new arrivals were subjected to mandatory detention, while established residents could seek release on bond. ICE’s expansion of mandatory detention to long-term residents was deemed an overreach, inconsistent with the law’s intent.
"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.
Crucially, the court also condemned the policy as a violation of the Fifth Amendment’s Due Process Clause, reaffirming that all people—regardless of immigration status—are entitled to basic rights in the U.S.
"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 decision is the eighth time appellate courts have rejected ICE’s cruel detention practices, with judges siding with immigrants in over 90% of more than 13,000 cases. The ruling is a resounding rebuke of ICE’s disregard for human dignity and the rule of law.