A powerful Justice Department appeals panel has declared that anyone in deportation proceedings who entered the U.S. without legal authorization is not entitled to be considered for release on bond by an immigration judge.
The ruling upends a decadeslong understanding of federal law and could subject millions of immigrants to mandatory detention — a loss of liberty that advocates say could cause many to voluntarily leave the country even if they have meritorious cases to remain.
It also conflicts with recent federal court rulings finding the administration’s efforts to expand immigration detention violate the law and due process.
Previously, foreigners who entered illegally but could show they had been living in the U.S. for more than two years could ask an immigration judge for release on bond. But the decision Friday from the Board of Immigration Appeals concludes that detention is mandatory for anyone in deportation proceedings who entered the U.S. “without inspection.”
The ruling comes two months after the Trump administration altered its own interpretation of the law to insist on mandatory detention for immigrants apprehended within the United States — even if they had been present for decades. The change in policy has led to a flood of arrests of immigrants attending routine court proceedings and check-ins with federal authorities, despite previous decisions by immigration courts that they posed no danger or risk of fleeing.
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