US Appeals Court Rejects Trump's Immigration Detention Policy

April 29, 2026 | 11:16 am

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - A U.S. federal appeals court has struck down a Trump administration policy mandating the detention of certain immigrants, ruling that it was based on a misinterpretation of longstanding immigration law.

In a unanimous 3–0 decision issued on Tuesday, April 28, 2026, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit in New York said the government had wrongly interpreted the law to justify holding immigrants without the possibility of release on bond.

Writing for the panel, U.S. Circuit Judge Joseph F. Bianco, a Trump appointee, warned that the government’s interpretation “would send a seismic shock through our immigration detention system and society,” straining already overcrowded facilities, separating families, and disrupting communities, as reported by Al Jazeera.

The Trump administration had argued the policy was authorized under the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996.

However, Bianco said the government had made “an attempt to muddy” the law’s “textually clear waters”, arguing that the administration’s interpretation “defies the statute’s context, structure, history, and purpose” and contradicts “longstanding executive branch practice”.

The policy allowed the Department of Homeland Security to detain not only newly arrived migrants at the border but also non-U.S. citizens who had lived in the country for years, placing them under mandatory detention. Under previous practice, most non-criminal immigrants arrested within the United States could still apply for release on bond while their cases were pending.

Amy Belsher, director of immigration litigation at the New York Civil Liberties Union, welcomed the ruling. “The Trump administration’s policy of detaining immigrants without any process is unlawful and cannot stand,” she said.

Belsher added that the policy could affect millions of people.

“The government cannot mandatorily detain millions of noncitizens, many of whom have lived here for decades, without an opportunity to seek release. It defies the Constitution, the Immigration and Nationality Act, and basic human decency,” she said in a statement.

The ruling adds to a growing legal divide, as two other federal appeals courts have previously upheld the policy. Bianco acknowledged the differences, noting that many lower court judges had rejected the government’s interpretation.

The split in rulings raises the likelihood that the U.S. Supreme Court will ultimately intervene to deliver a final decision.

In the same ruling, the court also upheld a release order for a Brazilian national, Ricardo Aparecido Barbosa da Cunha, who had been detained while on his way to work after living in the United States for more than 20 years. His lawyer, Michael Tan of the American Civil Liberties Union, supported the decision.

“The court was right to conclude the Trump administration can’t just reinterpret the law at its own whim,” he said.

The U.S. Department of Justice, which defended the policy, had not responded to the ruling as of publication.

Read: Trump Says He's 'Always Wanted to Live in Buckingham Palace'

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