5th Circuit Bars Detention Beyond 90 Days Without Bond Hearings in 2-1 Ruling
Updated
Updated · The Texas Tribune · Jul 2
5th Circuit Bars Detention Beyond 90 Days Without Bond Hearings in 2-1 Ruling
3 articles · Updated · The Texas Tribune · Jul 2
Summary
A 2-1 5th Circuit panel said undocumented immigrants arrested in the U.S. interior cannot be held longer than 90 days without a hearing where the government must justify continued detention.
Judge Leslie Southwick wrote that after 90 days, officials must show an individualized reason to deny bond, such as danger to the community, flight risk or another basis for detention.
The case arose from three Texas traffic-stop arrests between November 2025 and February 2026; all three men had lived in the U.S. at least 14 years and were later released after judges found due process violations.
The ruling rejects the Trump administration's July 2025 policy extending mandatory no-bond detention to many interior arrests, a shift that has triggered nearly 47,000 habeas petitions in 13 months.
It also adds to a widening appellate split: before this decision, four federal appeals courts had ruled against the policy, two had upheld it and one was deadlocked, making Supreme Court review likely.