Case will determine whether longtime U.S. residents can be detained without a meaningful opportunity to ask a judge for release
NEW ORLEANS, Louisiana, Sept. 24 2026 — On Thursday, September 24, the full U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit heard arguments in a major case over whether the Constitution permits the federal government to detain immigrants without ever providing them a bond hearing where they can challenge whether their detention is necessary.
The consolidated case involves three longtime Texas residents, all fathers of U.S.-citizen children and none with criminal histories. Each was arrested following a routine traffic stop and detained by immigration authorities without an opportunity to appear before a judge and demonstrate that he posed no danger to the community or flight risk — the only valid reasons to keep someone in detention during their immigration proceedings.
The American Immigration Council, the National Immigration Project, Garza & Narvaez PLLC, and the Law Offices of Stephen A. Lagana represent the three men.
In court today, attorneys argued that under the Constitution, the government cannot lock someone up in immigration detention without giving them a real chance to go before a judge and challenge their imprisonment.
“This case is about a basic constitutional right: if the government wants to lock someone up, it should have to explain why. The Trump administration is arguing that it can hold people in immigration detention without ever proving that doing so is necessary. This turns a fundamental constitutional protection on its head and gives the government extraordinary power over people’s freedom,” said Rebecca Cassler of the American Immigration Council, who argued the case today before the full Fifth Circuit court.
Federal district courts previously ruled that detaining the three men without bond hearings violated their constitutional right to due process. A three-judge Fifth Circuit panel later agreed, ruling that the Constitution protects people who have entered and built lives in this country regardless of their immigration status. The full Fifth Circuit subsequently vacated that decision and agreed to rehear the case.
“Today the government made the unprecedented argument that it can jail immigrants without ever having to explain why,” said Ellie Norton, Supervising Attorney, of the National Immigration Project. “That flies in the face of years of Supreme Court case law and the Constitution. Our clients are three fathers, community members, and churchgoers who have each lived in this country for over a decade. All they ask is for the opportunity to challenge whether they actually need to be behind bars and separated from their families while their immigration cases are pending. That is a cornerstone of our justice system and we hope that the Court will uphold it.”
The case is part of a nationwide fight over whether the government can lock up immigrants – including those who’ve lived in the U.S. for years or even decades – without giving them a chance to ask a judge for release. Hundreds of courts across the country, in thousands of cases, have repeatedly rejected the administration’s position, concluding that it violates either federal immigration law or the Constitution’s guarantee of due process when a person is thrown into prison.
The Fifth Circuit’s decision could affect thousands of people held in immigration detention across Texas, Louisiana, and Mississippi, states where a large share of the nation’s detained immigrants are held. Six other federal circuit courts have held that locking up longtime U.S. residents in immigration detention without giving them a chance to ask a judge for release would violate the Constitution. If the Fifth Circuit agrees with the government, this will be the first federal circuit court to find this detention without process constitutional.
MEDIA CONTACTS
Elyssa Pachico, epachico@immcouncil.org
Lilly Gonzalez, media@nipnlg.org
The post Fifth Circuit Hears Major Case Over Right to Challenge Immigration Detention appeared first on American Immigration Council.
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