Washington — The US Supreme Court agreed on Thursday to hear a dispute over the Trump administration's policy subjecting immigrants in the United States illegally to mandatory detention during their deportation proceedings, setting up a major test of the president's hardline immigration agenda.
The justices took up the administration's appeal of a lower-court ruling against the policy, with the case to be heard in the court's new term that begins on Monday, Reuters reported.
What the policy does
The US Department of Homeland Security in July 2025 issued new guidance telling federal immigration officials that immigrants in the country illegally are subject to mandatory detention without a bond hearing for the duration of their deportation proceedings — which can take months or even years.
The guidance marked a break from a nearly three-decade-old interpretation of federal law under which immigrants already living in the United States could be released on bond while they pursued their cases in immigration court.
Divided courts, rising detentions
The policy has divided the lower courts. The New Orleans-based 5th US Circuit Court of Appeals sided with the administration in a 2-1 decision in February, while most other federal appellate courts to review the policy — including the 2nd, 4th, 6th, 7th, 9th, 10th and 11th Circuits — have ruled against it, according to Reuters and USA Today.
Immigrants detained under the policy have filed tens of thousands of lawsuits seeking their release. A Reuters analysis in February found that hundreds of judges had ruled more than 4,400 times that the administration had detained such immigrants unlawfully.
Detentions have risen sharply: CNN reported that the number of migrants held in detention climbed from just under 38,000 at the end of the Biden administration to more than 65,000 this past summer.
What happens next
The Supreme Court, which has a 6-3 conservative majority, has allowed a number of Trump's hardline immigration policies to go into effect since he returned to office last year. The justices also agreed earlier this week to let the administration resume, for now, swiftly deporting migrants to countries other than their own, scheduling arguments in that case for December.
Sources: US Supreme Court to hear clash over Trump's immigration detention policy | Supreme Court to decide if Trump can hold migrants in mandatory detention without bond
The justices took up the administration's appeal of a lower-court ruling against the policy, with the case to be heard in the court's new term that begins on Monday, Reuters reported.
What the policy does
The US Department of Homeland Security in July 2025 issued new guidance telling federal immigration officials that immigrants in the country illegally are subject to mandatory detention without a bond hearing for the duration of their deportation proceedings — which can take months or even years.
The guidance marked a break from a nearly three-decade-old interpretation of federal law under which immigrants already living in the United States could be released on bond while they pursued their cases in immigration court.
Divided courts, rising detentions
The policy has divided the lower courts. The New Orleans-based 5th US Circuit Court of Appeals sided with the administration in a 2-1 decision in February, while most other federal appellate courts to review the policy — including the 2nd, 4th, 6th, 7th, 9th, 10th and 11th Circuits — have ruled against it, according to Reuters and USA Today.
Immigrants detained under the policy have filed tens of thousands of lawsuits seeking their release. A Reuters analysis in February found that hundreds of judges had ruled more than 4,400 times that the administration had detained such immigrants unlawfully.
Detentions have risen sharply: CNN reported that the number of migrants held in detention climbed from just under 38,000 at the end of the Biden administration to more than 65,000 this past summer.
What happens next
The Supreme Court, which has a 6-3 conservative majority, has allowed a number of Trump's hardline immigration policies to go into effect since he returned to office last year. The justices also agreed earlier this week to let the administration resume, for now, swiftly deporting migrants to countries other than their own, scheduling arguments in that case for December.
Sources: US Supreme Court to hear clash over Trump's immigration detention policy | Supreme Court to decide if Trump can hold migrants in mandatory detention without bond
