Fifth Circuit sides with Trump administration on detaining illegal immigrants during removal

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What we know

The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals sided with the Trump administration regarding the detention of illegal immigrants. The ruling permits the administration to hold these individuals during their removal process.

Patriot Watch first flagged this story 6 hr ago, when Washington Examiner reported it. So far this remains a single-source report. The most recent report came 6 hr ago from Washington Examiner. Verification tier: Watching — single-source — not yet independently corroborated.

⚖ The Constitutional Angle

Zadvydas v. Kim Ho Ma holds that detention tied to removal may last only as long as reasonably necessary to carry it out, not indefinitely, with six months presumptively reasonable. Yamataya v. Fisher adds that anyone who has entered the United States, lawfully or not, is a Fifth Amendment person owed at least notice and a hearing. So detention during removal is allowed, but bounded by both.

Zadvydas v. Kim Ho Ma) 533 U.S. 678 (2001)

Vote: 5-4 · Opinion: Justice Stephen G. Breyer

8 U.S.C. § 1231(a)(6), read in light of the Constitution's demands, limits an alien's post-removal-period detention to a period reasonably necessary to bring about that alien's removal from the United States; it 'does not permit indefinite detention.' The Court adopted six months as the presumptively reasonable detention period: after six months, once the alien provides good reason to believe there is no significant likelihood of removal in the reasonably foreseeable future, the government must rebut that showing or release the alien (under supervision).

Kaoru Yamataya v. Thomas M. Fisher, Immigrant and Chinese Inspector (The Japanese Immigrant Case) 189 U.S. 86 (1903)

Vote: Majority for the Court (Harlan); Brewer and Peckham dissenting. Exact 7-2 tally not… · Opinion: Harlan

Although Congress may commit exclusion and deportation to executive officers without judicial trial, an alien who has landed and become part of the U.S.

Precedent facts from the PW Law Library — primary-source verified & independently audited