Immigration News

The Supreme Court held today that under immigration law, a certain class of non-citizens facing deportation are not required to have a bond hearing if they’ve been held in detention over six months. The 5-3 ruling, however, avoided a judgment on whether the Constitution requires such hearings.
The ruling is a defeat for supporters of immigrant rights groups and it is considered a failure for many, including us. We believe that there should be greater procedural protections for non-citizens facing deportation. The case was brought by a class of immigrants.

The decision could have unpredictable implications under President Donald Trump. He has overseen a hard turn in enforcing immigration laws. All new measures implemented and planned by the current administration were inhumane and inconsiderate towards immigrants. The administration increased the use of detention to house undocumented immigrants awaiting court decisions about whether they can stay in the US.

The class of immigrants in the case are all incarcerated and include lawful permanent residents with minor criminal history and asylum seekers who have passed an initial screening but are waiting for the chance to raise their claims. It does not include any individuals that the government believes to be national security threats.

Lower courts had divided on how to interpret the immigration detention statutes at issue in the case. In the case at hand, the 9th US Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in favor of all classes mandating an individualized bond hearing after six months of detention.

About DACA

Also, yesterday the Supreme Court decided yesterday to not interfere in the DACA conversation. It leaves the decision to the lower courts to decide. Which means that, for now, DACA holders will continue to have legal status and all applications can be renewed. If you have DACA and need to renew, call us today! 770-913-0800