U.S. appeals court upholds Trump administration's immigration detention policy

Kevin R. Johnson

07 Feb 2026 — 1 min read

Reuters reports that a federal appeals court yesterday upheld the Trump administration's policy of placing people arrested in its immigration crackdown in mandatory detention without an opportunity to be released on bond.

The decision was authored by Judge Edith H. Jones of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. Judge Dana Douglas dissented. It is "the first time an appeals court had upheld the policy and came despite hundreds of lower-court judges nationally declaring it unlawful."

Steve Vladeck comments on the ruling here.

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Immigration Article of the Day: Sanctuary and the Data State by Fatma Marouf & Huyen Pham

In an anti-fraud measure, U.S. government freezes Microsoft, Adobe, Infosys lawful permanent resident applications

Human Rights Watch: "To Scare People": US Expulsions of Third-Country Nationals to Countries in Africa

Immigration Article of the Day: Recalibrating the Plenary Power Doctrine After Trump v. Hawaii, Thuraissigiam, and Loper Bright by Abdul Aziz Meslat