Justices weigh case on jailing of immigrants
The Supreme Court’s liberal justices dominated discussion Tuesday about the prolonged detention of immigrants facing deportation, expressing concern about the government holding noncitizens indefinitely without a hearing.
At issue for the court is whether immigrants slated for deportation have the right to a bail hearing and possible release after six months if they are not a flight risk and pose no danger to the public.
The conservative justices were less vocal but expressed skepticism about whether the court should be setting firm deadlines for hearings in immigration cases.
A lawyer for the Trump administration told the high court that noncitizens — whether documented or undocumented immigrants — have no constitutional right to be in the United States.
The justices were taking a second look at the issue after an evenly divided court could not reach a decision last term and scheduled the case for reargument. With Justice Neil Gorsuch joining the bench since then, he could cast the deciding vote.
The case reached the high court after the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit ruled that immigrants fighting deportation are entitled to bond hearings if they have been held for more than six months. A lawyer for the American Civil Liberties Union, representing a group of noncitizens held for more than a year without a hearing, told the Supreme Court that the outcome of the case will affect thousands of people held in jail-like detention centers.
The outcome takes on heightened significance as President Trump has vowed to broadly increase immigration enforcement across the United States. Immigration arrests are up sharply since he took office in January, but deportations are down this year, in part because of a significant drop in illegal crossings on the southern border with Mexico.
The Supreme Court has previously held that undocumented immigrants are entitled to some form of due process when contesting their detention but also that “brief ” detentions were allowed. Courts have interpreted those rulings in different ways, with the San Francisco-based Ninth Circuit, for instance, requiring more procedural safeguards for those who would be held for months or even years.
The court’s liberals on Tuesday pressed Deputy Solicitor General Malcolm Stewart about why immigrants in detention centers are treated differently than criminal defendants, who automatically receive hearings to determine whether they remain locked up pending trial.
Justice Stephen Breyer noted that even a criminal suspect accused of “triple ax murders” is entitled to a bail hearing. “That to me is a little odd,” Breyer said, his voice rising.