Supreme Court to Hear Arguments on ‘Prolonged’ Migrant Detention

The US Supreme Court will take up the question of whether noncitizens convicted of certain crimes have the right to a bond hearing after lengthy periods in immigration detention.

The court Monday granted the Trump administration’s request to review a Second Circuit decision finding that long-term custody without bond hearings violated such detainees’ constitutional due-process rights.

The justices will consider whether, in bond proceedings, the government needs to justify a noncitizen’s continued detention “by clear and convincing evidence.” It also directed the parties to brief and argue whether the case of one of the noncitizens is moot.

At issue is a statute requiring that certain “criminal aliens” be detained while their cases proceed through the immigration system. The government argued that a decision from the Supreme Court could resolve a split between the Second, Third, and Eighth circuits about what due process is owed to the “criminal alien” and how to determine if a long detention has become unreasonable. In opposing cert, attorneys for the noncitizens called that split “shallow.”

The Second Circuit case involved two lawful permanent residents who were convicted of crimes and had been in immigration custody for seven and 21 months, respectively. One has since voluntarily left the country; the other was released and has applied for a pardon in his criminal case.

In 2018’s Jennings v. Rodriguez, the Supreme Court rejected an argument that noncitizens are owed bond hearings after six months in immigration detention. That case was decided on statutory grounds and didn’t reach broader Constitutional questions.

The noncitizens are represented by New York Civil Liberties Union Foundation, American Civil Liberties Union Foundation, Roderick & Solange MacArthur Justice Center, and Нecker Fink LLP.

The case is Genalo v. Black, U.S., No. 25-886, cert. granted 6/15/26.