Ninth Circuit rejects Trump administration's no-bond immigration detention theory

A federal appeals court on July 30 rejected the Trump administration’s argument that some immigrants detained inside the United States can be held without bond hearings, handing the administration a legal loss on a detention theory it had pressed in multiple cases. The decision came from the Ninth Circuit and centers on a basic but important question in immigration custody: whether people held inside the country must get a chance to ask an immigration judge for release on bond. The administration argued for a more rigid reading of the law, one that would make detention mandatory in some interior cases. The court disagreed, keeping the bond-hearing question alive for detainees in that circuit. The ruling matters because bond hearings are often the difference between continued confinement and release while a case moves through immigration court. For detainees, the process can determine whether they spend weeks or months in custody before their claims are resolved. The Ninth Circuit’s ruling also adds to a split among federal appeals courts. Other circuits have accepted the government’s no-bond theory in some situations, while others have rejected it. That leaves a patchwork in which immigration custody rules can turn on geography as much as on the underlying facts of a case. The broader fight is likely to continue. A divided appellate landscape makes it more likely the issue will eventually reach the Supreme Court if the lower courts keep producing conflicting outcomes. For now, the Trump administration remains free to defend its position, but the Ninth Circuit has made clear that interior detention does not automatically mean no bond review.