Key facts
- The Supreme Court will hear a case on Trump's immigration detention policy.
- The policy mandates detention for immigrants in deportation proceedings without bond hearings.
- The policy represents a departure from a nearly 30-year-old interpretation of federal law.
- Most federal appellate courts have ruled against the policy.
- The 5th US Circuit Court of Appeals previously ruled in favor of the administration.
The U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to hear a dispute over a policy by President Donald Trump's administration that subjects millions of immigrants in the United States illegally to mandatory detention during their deportation proceedings. This policy marks a departure from a nearly three-decade-old interpretation of federal law that allowed immigrants already living in the U.S. to be released on bond while their cases were processed.
The policy has led to tens of thousands of lawsuits, with hundreds of judges ruling that the Trump administration had detained immigrants unlawfully. However, federal appellate courts are split on the issue. The 5th US Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in favor of the administration in February, reversing lower court decisions that had led to the release of two Mexican men, Victor Buenrostro-Mendez and Jose Padron Covarrubias, who have since appealed to the Supreme Court. Most other federal appellate courts have ruled against the policy.
The Supreme Court, which has a 6-3 conservative majority, has previously allowed several of Trump's immigration policies to take effect. The court is also set to hear arguments in another significant immigration case concerning the swift deportation of migrants.