President Trump secured a significant legal victory Friday when the full U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit delivered a 10-7 ruling reinstating mandatory detention without individualized bond hearings for certain illegal aliens during their removal proceedings.
The decision reversed three lower-court orders that had mandated the release of detained individuals and barred federal authorities from re-detaining them without first conducting bond hearings to assess dangerousness and flight risk. The ruling specifically preserves mandatory detention under Section 1225(b)(2)(A) of Title 8 for unadmitted applicants who entered the country without inspection and were never lawfully admitted.
The consolidated case, Sosnava Rodriguez v. Vergara, No. 26-50183, involved three petitioners who had lived in the United States for years after entering unlawfully. They were detained following traffic stops and challenged their continued custody, arguing they deserved individualized bond hearings based on prolonged presence. Federal district courts in Texas granted habeas relief, ordering release and prohibiting re-detention without bond proceedings.
A divided Fifth Circuit panel initially sided with the petitioners in July 2026, requiring an individualized bond hearing within 90 days. The full court later reversed course after rehearing en banc, citing congressional authority over immigration. In a 159-page opinion authored by Judge Cory Wilson and joined by Chief Judge Jennifer Elrod and seven other judges, the court held that the petitioners—who entered without inspection and were never lawfully admitted—were not constitutionally entitled to additional individualized bond procedures beyond what Congress mandated for their category.
The ruling explicitly rejected the argument that years of physical presence granted them constitutional rights to bond hearings. It also vacated the district courts’ habeas relief orders, affirming detention could continue without judicially created bond requirements under existing federal law.
Seven judges dissented, highlighting the contentious nature of the decision. The Fifth Circuit emphasized Congress’s broad authority over immigration and its explicit mandate for mandatory detention in cases where applicants are not “clearly and beyond doubt” entitled to admission. This ruling closes a key legal pathway used by detainees to challenge continued custody through federal habeas litigation, strengthening the administration’s enforcement of immigration procedures as codified in law.
