US Courts Block ICE Detention Policies Amid Circuit Split, Supreme Court Likely to Rule

Federal judges have repeatedly rejected Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention practices, ruling against the agency in roughly 90% of cases—over 10,000 decisions documented by POLITANO. Judges have described the policies as violating due‑process rights, with one noting, “This isn’t how things are supposed to work.”

At the appellate level, courts are divided. The 2nd, 6th and 11th Circuits have struck down the Trump administration’s mandatory‑detention‑without‑bond policy, calling it “the broadest mass‑detention‑without‑bond mandate in our Nation’s history” and saying it “strains reason.” The 5th and 8th Circuits, however, have upheld the policy. The split among the circuits creates an imminent need for the U.S. Supreme Court to resolve the constitutionality of indefinite detention for millions of immigrants. The policy underpins the administration’s goal of 1 million removals a year, though the current pace is about 460,000 removals for the fiscal year.