The case is the latest controversy over US President Donald Trump’s sweeping crackdown on immigration.
Published October 1, 2026
The U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to hear a case focused on the Trump administration’s policy requiring millions of illegal immigrants to remain in detention while they fight deportation.
The case, accepted by a judge Thursday, is the latest challenge to reach the nation’s highest court over President Donald Trump’s sweeping immigration crackdown.
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At issue is whether immigrants already living in the United States have a legal right to a hearing where a judge can decide whether they should be released on bond from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) custody while their deportation case is pending.
In July 2025, the administration introduced new guidance directing federal immigration authorities to detain undocumented immigrants without bail hearings during deportation proceedings, which can last for years.
The new policy, which has divided lower courts, overturns a decades-old interpretation that allowed some immigrants in the United States to be released while their cases were pending in immigration court, Reuters reported.
Most federal appeals courts in the United States have ruled that immigrants cannot be detained without a bail hearing. However, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit and the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit have ruled that immigrants charged with illegal entry and unlawful presence must remain detained while their deportation cases proceed.
Trump administration lawyers told The Associated Press that the split “disrupts the orderly administration of immigration law.”
“The result is an unworkable patchwork of inconsistent immigration enforcement, where aliens who enter the country without admission are subject to mandatory detention in some circuits, entitled to bail hearings, and often released in others,” the attorneys wrote.
Millions of people could be affected
The Supreme Court case stems from a decision by the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals regarding Ricardo Aparecido Barbosa da Cunha, a Brazilian national who entered the United States around 2004 or 2005.
In September 2025, he was arrested by immigration officials while driving to work in Massachusetts. He was initially denied a bail hearing due to administration policy, but was later released on bail, according to court documents cited by Reuters.
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), which represents the plaintiffs, told The Associated Press that the Trump administration is seeking to deny bail hearings to immigrants apprehended in the United States rather than place limits on noncitizens stopped at the border.
“Millions of noncitizens could be affected by the government’s new interpretation,” ACLU attorneys wrote.
The Supreme Court is scheduled to hear arguments on Monday, when the new term begins.
