The US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit has ruled that certain immigrants who entered the country without lawful admission can be detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) without bond hearings throughout their deportation proceedings, backing the Trump administration’s expanded detention policy in a divided decision on October 23.
The full appeals court held that federal immigration law allows mandatory detention for people covered by the relevant provision while their removal proceedings remain pending. ICE posted the announcement on X, declaring that immigrants arrested by the agency could be detained without bond throughout their removal proceedings. The ruling applies within the Fifth Circuit’s jurisdiction, which covers Texas, Louisiana and Mississippi . Federal district courts initially ruled in their favor, ordering the government to provide bond hearings. The majority relied on the Immigration and Nationality Act, which requires detention for certain applicants for admission who are not clearly entitled to enter the US. The court concluded that the provision does not require immigration authorities to offer individual bond hearings to people detained under it.
The 10–7 ruling overturned lower court orders that had required the government to provide individual bond hearings to three immigrants detained by ICE . A three-judge panel of the Fifth Circuit upheld those decisions in July 2026, requiring the government to provide hearings within 90 days.
However, the full appeals court reconsidered the cases and reversed the earlier rulings.
