Immigrant Bond Hearings Denied For Potential Flight Risks by Supreme Court

The Supreme Court ruled that immigrants don’t have a right to bond hearings when they are classified as potential flight risks. In addition, they state district courts cannot mandate that these immigrant bond hearings be provided by the government on a class-wide basis. Section 1231 of the Immigrant and Nationality Act (INA) does not require bond hearings for detainees after six months if their deportation isn’t “readily foreseeable.”

Justice Sotomayor ruled regarding the case of Johnson et al. v. Arteaga-Martinez et al. that the statute does not include any specifics regarding bond hearings. Additionally, the Supreme Court ruled in Garland et al. v. Aleman Gonzales et al. that the INA prohibits courts from taking requests by certain groups of immigrants for orders that could get in the way of the law. Circuit courts ruled in favor of Arteaga-Marines and the classes of immigrants led by Aleman Gonzalez in 2019 and 2020, respectively.

However, the court majority did not come to a conclusion regarding whether immigration law or the Constitution requires the release of immigrants who have been held for extended periods of time.

Justices Thomas and Gorsuch argued that federal courts did not have the jurisdiction to hear the case of Arteaga-Martinez, who is challenging his detention without bond, since the INA only allows challenges to final orders of removal. Justice Thomas also argued that the high court should consider whether the Constitution’s due process clause applies to immigrants arguing their deportation. He added that the court should overturn a 2001 ruling that the government cannot indefinitely detain unauthorized immigrants.

Justices Sotomayor, Kagan, and Breyer dissented from the majority interpretation that courts besides the Supreme Court cannot inhibit the operation of federal immigration laws. These three justices also disagreed with the majority decision that a class-wide request for injunction necessarily means that the individual members of the class no longer act as individuals.

If you have questions about a bond hearing or any other immigration-related issue, contact us at ILBSG. We actively monitor ongoing policy updates to ensure our clients get the right advice.