Fifth Circuit rejects constitutional bond-hearing right for detainees

Response / context

The majority said the petitioners received the process Congress provided for applicants for admission and that dangerousness and flight risk do not determine whether detention is authorized under § 1225(b)(2)(A). It also held that the detention duration presented no constitutional issue warranting habeas relief on the records before it. The court ordered the mandate to issue immediately. Judge Leslie Southwick, joined by five judges, dissented and argued that people who have lived in the country for years retain a due-process right to seek release; Judge Catharina Haynes separately agreed with Southwick's basic points while limiting her analysis to people like the three petitioners. Separate dissents led by Judges Dana Douglas and Stephen Higginson challenged the majority's constitutional and statutory analyses. Reuters reported that the Department of Homeland Security called the decision a victory for mandatory detention, while an attorney for the petitioners said it could result in unnecessary confinement. The ruling controls the three consolidated appeals and is binding within the Fifth Circuit, which covers Texas, Louisiana and Mississippi. Reuters reported that the Supreme Court has agreed to consider a related statutory question; that is distinct from the constitutional question decided here. Later rehearing or Supreme Court review remains possible, but no later order was identified during the Ledger's review.