Supreme Court to Review Immigrant Detention Policy
The Supreme Court has decided to examine the Trump administration’s approach regarding the detention of illegal immigrants, specifically the practice of holding them without a bond hearing during their deportation proceedings.
The case, Rhoney v. Barbosa da Cunha, is among the first to be considered by the justices as they resume their sessions following summer break, and it will appear on the docket just before the new term starts.
This issue originated in July 2025 when Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) released a memorandum. For nearly three decades, only those immigrants who were captured at the border or had specific criminal records could be detained without a bond hearing. Others arrested within the country had the opportunity to request a bond from an immigration judge. However, the recent ICE memo changed this policy. It instructed officers to view anyone who entered illegally—regardless of how long ago they had come—as if they were still at the border seeking entry, effectively denying them the right to a bond hearing.
The administration cited a section of federal law mandating that such immigrants “shall be detained,” in contrast to the older law that allowed judges to permit release on a bond of at least $1,500.
The individual at the center of this case illustrates the extensive implications of the new policy. Ricardo Aparecido Barbosa da Cunha, a Brazilian citizen, arrived in the U.S. without documentation around 2005. He sought asylum in 2016, obtained a work permit, purchased a home, and operated a small business. However, he was arrested by ICE in 2025. An immigration judge indicated that the new policy precluded any bond hearing, prompting him to appeal in federal court, where the Second Circuit supported his position.
Since the memo’s implementation, courts have displayed conflicting rulings. The Fifth and Eighth Circuits have endorsed the administration’s stance, while the Second, Sixth, Seventh, Ninth, Tenth, and Eleventh Circuits have found in favor of the immigrants. According to one count by Politico, federal district judges have ruled against the policy over 9,300 times.
Justice Department attorneys communicated to the court that this division has resulted in a chaotic scenario, wherein an immigrant may be detained in one region of the country while being released in another.
This review occurs alongside Trump’s continued focus on immigration enforcement, which has characterized his second term, with ICE reporting more than 356,000 removals in the 2026 fiscal year. Additionally, the case will be assessed by three justices appointed by Trump—Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh, and Amy Coney Barrett—whom he recently expressed regret over choosing.
Arguments are anticipated early next year.
