2nd Circuit Unanimously Strikes Down Trump Mandatory Detention Policy — Finds Noncitizens Entitled to Bond Hearings

A unanimous three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit on April 28–29, 2026 struck down the Trump administration's mandatory immigration detention policy in a 3-0 ruling, finding that the administration had misread decades-old immigration law to jail noncitizens without bond hearings. The court held that noncitizens subject to mandatory detention provisions of the Immigration and Nationality Act retain the right to bond hearings — particularly when their detention becomes prolonged — and that denying all access to bond hearings raises 'serious constitutional questions' under the Due Process Clause of the Fifth Amendment. The ruling directly conflicts with decisions from other federal circuits that have upheld broader mandatory detention interpretations, making Supreme Court review highly likely in the current or next term. The Second Circuit's jurisdiction covers New York, Connecticut, and Vermont; the ruling requires ICE facilities in those states to hold bond hearings for thousands of individuals currently detained without any hearing before an immigration judge. The ACLU, which litigated the case, called the ruling a vindication of due process rights and noted that many mandatory detainees had been held for months without any opportunity to demonstrate they were not flight risks or public safety threats. The Trump administration was expected to seek en banc review or petition the Supreme Court for certiorari, as the ruling poses a significant operational constraint on the mandatory detention regime that forms a cornerstone of the administration's interior enforcement strategy.