A federal judge in the United States has rejected a decision by an administrative board that supported the Trump administration’s policy of mandatory detention for individuals arrested during immigration enforcement. The judge accused the administration of causing fear among immigrants and blatantly disregarding the law.
U.S. District Judge Sunshine Sykes in Riverside, California, overturned a ruling by the Board of Immigration Appeals, stating that the Trump administration had failed to comply with her previous order deeming the policy of denying detainees the opportunity to seek bond release as illegal. Sykes emphasized that the administration had defied her earlier ruling, which determined that many detained immigrants were being unlawfully denied the chance for release.
According to U.S. immigration law, mandatory detention is required for “applicants for admission” while their cases are pending in immigration courts, making them ineligible for bond hearings. Despite the traditional interpretation of the law, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) asserted last year that non-citizens residing in the U.S. also fall under the category of applicants for admission.
The Board of Immigration Appeals, a part of the Justice Department, issued a decision last September that adopted this interpretation, leading to immigration judges nationwide mandating detention. Sykes ruled in December that the DHS policy was illegal but did not immediately nullify the board’s decision. However, she expressed the need for further action after Chief Immigration Judge Teresa Riley advised her colleagues not to be bound by Sykes’s ruling and to continue following the board’s decision.
The issue of mass detention has resulted in conflicting judgments across U.S. courts. While a panel from the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals supported the administration’s actions, numerous other federal judges, including Sykes, have ruled against the Trump administration’s interpretation of the law.
Sykes criticized the DHS for repeatedly implying that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) operations exclusively targeted criminal non-citizens considered the “worst of the worst.” She highlighted concerns over the government’s actions, stating that it extended violence not only to non-citizens but also to American citizens.
Sykes’s recent ruling invalidates the board’s decision as a basis for denying bond hearings by immigration judges. Attorneys involved in the lawsuit expressed hope that the court’s orders would lead to compliance by the DHS and immigration courts in providing bond hearings to the detained non-citizens.
The White House deferred comments to the DHS, which emphasized that ICE adheres to court decisions until the highest court rules otherwise. The Department of Justice, responsible for overseeing the immigration appeals board, did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
With bond hearings inaccessible, thousands of immigrants have filed petitions in federal court seeking release. Despite judges granting many of these petitions, the administration has been found to violate orders for release or provision of relief. Sykes, appointed by former President Joe Biden, has consistently ruled against the mandatory detention policy, extending her decisions nationwide. She stated that the lack of due process for immigrants harms families, communities, and the nation as a whole.