Supreme Court Weighing Indefinite Detention of Unauthorized Immigrants in Two Seminal Cases

The Supreme Court heard arguments for two cases on January 11, 2022 over whether immigrants detained for long periods while they are contesting deportation are entitled to hearings to decide whether they may be released on bond as their cases move forward. The court’s answer to the question will affect hundreds of thousands of immigrants who are being indefinitely detained while their cases are decided by immigration courts that face historic backlogs with years-long waiting periods. The plaintiffs in the two cases coming before the Court argue that immigrants held in detention for longer than six months are entitled to a bond hearing in which a judge determines whether they should continue to be detained. However, the Biden Administration disagrees, with a lawyer for the federal government stating that “Congress can make rules for noncitizens that it can’t for citizens and that detention during removal proceedings is constitutionally permissible.” Furthermore, the Justice Department (DOJ) argues the immigration statute in question does not entitle immigrants to a hearing and that the lower courts do not have the authority to grant class-wide relief. The Court’s decision on these two cases will be forthcoming this year.