NEW ORLEANS — The full 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Friday against three men who sought bond hearings after being detained for deportation.
Federal judges in Texas had ordered the men released. They also barred immigration officials from taking them back into custody without hearings on whether they were dangerous or likely to flee. The appeals court reversed those orders, 10-7.
The men — Ignacio Sosnava Rodriguez, Alejandro Villegas Angel and Miguel Angel Gomez Alvarado — had lived in the United States for years after entering without inspection. Their time in custody ranged from three weeks to about three months, according to the court’s opinion.
They were detained under a law that treats certain people already in the country as applicants for admission and requires them to remain in custody during removal proceedings. The men argued that the Fifth Amendment nevertheless entitled them to bond hearings.
Judge Cory Wilson, writing for the majority, rejected that argument. The ruling also wipes out a 90-day deadline for hearings set by a three-judge panel in July, when it upheld the men’s release.
The majority said different due process questions could arise if deportation were no longer practicable, or if removal proceedings served as a pretext for incarceration. It left those questions unresolved and said other grounds for seeking release through habeas corpus were still available.
Two dissenting opinions challenged the majority’s reasoning. Judge Dana Douglas said constitutional protection against arbitrary detention applies to people inside the country regardless of immigration status. Judge Leslie Southwick argued that the government must justify keeping someone confined.
The ruling governs federal courts in Texas, Louisiana and Mississippi. The Supreme Court has agreed to hear a related case on whether the detention law covers people living in the United States who were never admitted. That case asks about the meaning of the statute; it does not directly present the constitutional question decided Friday.
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