Fifth Circuit denies bond hearings for many ICE holds
According to the full Fifth Circuit ruling and reports by Fox News, the Texas Tribune, and Bloomberg Law, many people held by ICE after entering without inspection have no right to a bond hearing. The judges split 10 to 7. The order binds Texas, Louisiana, and Mississippi.
According to the en banc opinion in Ignacio Sosnava Rodriguez v. Vergara, No. 26-50183, filed October 23, 2026, and reporting by Fox News, the Texas Tribune, and Bloomberg Law, the full US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit held 10-7 that people who entered the United States without inspection and are detained for removal under 8 USC section 1225(b)(2) have no Fifth Amendment right to individual bond hearings on danger or flight risk.
Judge Cory T. Wilson wrote for the majority. Chief Judge Elrod and Judges Jones, Smith, Richman, Willett, Ho, Duncan, Engelhardt, and Oldham joined him. The court said such detainees are applicants for admission. They get only the process Congress wrote into the statute. Wilson wrote that the Constitution does not entitle them to a bond hearing. Judge Leslie Southwick dissented. Judges Stewart, Graves, Higginson, Douglas, and Ramirez joined him. The dissent said the Constitution does not allow every long-resident noncitizen to be held without an individualized hearing.
Fox News noted a related Supreme Court case, Rhoney v. Barbosa da Cunha. That case may test which detention statute applies to longtime residents arrested inside the country. The Fifth Circuit ruling binds immigration courts and ICE offices in Texas, Louisiana, and Mississippi unless a higher court changes it. District judges in the circuit had been ordering bond hearings. Those grants are now reversed under the en banc decision.
The fight is over process, not a criminal charge against a named defendant in the news pages. Detainees who want release can still seek other paths the statute allows, the majority said. Advocates say long holds without a hearing will grow. The administration treats the ruling as a win for mass detention policy in the circuit.
What we know: The en banc Fifth Circuit ruled 10-7 that these detainees lack a constitutional right to bond hearings. The opinion is No. 26-50183.
What we don't: How ICE offices will change hearing practice circuit-wide under the new precedent, and how the Supreme Court will treat the related statutory fight outlets flag.
Where outlets agree The Fifth Circuit en banc opinion and Fox News, the Texas Tribune, and Bloomberg Law report a 10-7 ruling that these ICE detainees have no constitutional right to bond hearings.
Where they differ The Wilson majority says the Constitution does not entitle them to a bond hearing, while Judge Southwick and six colleagues dissent that long-resident noncitizens cannot be held without an individualized hearing.