Supreme Court to Review Limits on Indefinite Immigration Detention

The Supreme Court announced it will consider a challenge to the practice of holding non-citizens subject to deportation in detention without a bond hearing. The case involves Ricardo Aparecido Barbosa da Cunha, a Brazilian national detained after a traffic stop in Massachusetts, who was ordered released by a district court and upheld by the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.

The issue centers on whether a federal statute, invoked by the Trump administration to permit indefinite detention of individuals deemed to have entered the country illegally, applies only to those detained near the border or to anyone nationwide. Lower courts have been split, with most rulings favoring detainees who argue the law’s scope is limited to border-area arrests.

"Try as it might, the government cannot twist the law to detain immigrants for months or even years on end without a bond hearing. Not only is it cruel and inhumane; it is unlawful," said Michael Tan of the American Civil Liberties Union in a statement.

Solicitor General D. John Sauer, representing the government, described the question as "critically important" and said the policy eliminates a "perverse incentive" that treats border evaders more leniently than those detained at the border. He added that the litigation is "disrupting the orderly administration of immigration law."

Thousands of individuals are already detained under the policy, which could affect millions if expanded. The case does not involve immigrants convicted of certain crimes, who may be detained until removal under separate legal provisions.