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In 2024, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit ruled that Keisy G.M., a lawful permanent resident who had been subjected to mandatory detention for 21 months, could not be detained any longer without a hearing on whether he poses a flight risk or danger. That decision was consistent with the vast majority of federal court rulings on the government’s practice of detaining people for prolonged periods of time without any individual hearings. The Trump administration appealed the ruling in January 2026 and on June 15 the Supreme Court agreed to hear the case, setting oral argument for Oct. 13, 2026. The Trump administration is taking a radical position the government has not taken in the 30 years since this mandatory detention statute, 8 U.S.C. 1226(c), was enacted by Congress. It says immigrants like Mr. G.M. do not have a protected liberty interest in not being locked up without a hearing — at a time when the administration is pushing hard to detain and deport as many immigrants as possible, often locking people away in inhumane ICE detention centers, where deaths are already at record levels. On the government’s theory, it can lock up people under this mandatory detention statute for months, years, or even decades, without a hearing — as long as the removal case is still ongoing. The ºìÐÓÊÓƵ, New York Civil Liberties Union, MacArthur Justice Center, and Hecker Fink LLP are co-counsel. The groups argue the federal appeals court ruling is correct, and that the Constitution protects all of us, regardless of immigration status, from being locked away without due process.

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