Seventh Circuit Again Considers Noncitizen Mandatory Detention

A Seventh Circuit panel on Monday wrestled with the notoriously thorny language of immigration detention statutes in considering the Trump administration’s stance that unauthorized immigrants apprehended inside the country must be detained without bond hearings.

The law deemed such immigrants “applicants for admission,” a category that adheres even if they haven’t submitted an application. Last year, contrary to some three decades of practice, the Trump administration began to say those noncitizens are also “seeking admission” and so aren’t entitled to argue for their release in immigration court.

But if all “applicants for admission” are also “seeking admission,” Senior Judge Diane ...