US appeals court upholds Trump's immigration detention policy
Source: Reuters
February 6, 2026 10:41 PM EST Updated 7 hours ago
Feb 6 (Reuters) - A divided federal appeals court upheld on Friday the Trump administration's policy of placing people arrested in its immigration crackdown in mandatory detention without an opportunity to be released on bond. The decision, opens new tab by a conservative 2-1 panel of the New Orleans-based 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals marked the first time an appeals court had upheld the policy and came despite hundreds of lower-court judges nationally declaring it unlawful.
U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi hailed the ruling on social media as dealing "a significant blow against activist judges who have been undermining our efforts to make America safe again at every turn." The ruling is expected to impact thousands of people as the court's jurisdiction covers Texas and Louisiana, which are dotted with detention centers and house the most immigration detainees.
Other appeals courts are slated in coming weeks to take up the issue, which the U.S. Supreme Court may ultimately need to resolve. Under federal immigration law, "applicants for admission" to the United States are subject to mandatory detention while their cases proceed in immigration courts and are ineligible for bond hearings.
Bucking a long-standing interpretation of the law, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security last year took the position that non-citizens already residing in the United States, and not only those who arrive at a port of entry at the border, qualify as applicants for admission.
Read more: https://www.reuters.com/world/us/us-appeals-court-upholds-trumps-immigration-detention-policy-2026-02-07/
Link to ORDER (PDF) - https://fingfx.thomsonreuters.com/gfx/legaldocs/jnpwkmwnqpw/02062026fifth.pdf
5th Circuit. Enough said. This is so far the only Circuit Court that has ruled this way.
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