DOJ Panel Makes Clear: Illegal Aliens Are Subject to Mandatory Detention



by John Binder 8 Sep 2025

The Department of Justice’s (DOJ) Board of Immigration Appeals, the nation’s top panel for interpreting federal immigration law, is making clear that illegal aliens living in the United States are subject to mandatory detention, as required by the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA).

Late last week, the Board of Immigration Appeals made the sweeping clarification as part of a ruling in a case involving an illegal alien from Venezuela who made an appeal to the board after he was denied a bond hearing by a federal immigration judge.

In its review of the matter, the Board of Immigration Appeals made clear that illegal aliens living in the United States are subject to mandatory detention and therefore ineligible for a bond hearing before a federal immigration judge.

“The issue presented on appeal is one of statutory construction: Does the INA require that all applicants for admission, even those like the respondent who have entered without admission or inspection and have been residing in the United States for years without lawful status, be subject to mandatory detention for the duration of their immigration proceedings, and thus the Immigration Judge lacks authority over a bond request filed by an alien in this category?” the Board of Immigration Appeals wrote.

The ruling further states:

Under the plain reading of the INA, we affirm the Immigration Judge’s determination that he did not have authority over the bond request because aliens who are present in the United States without admission are applicants for admission as defined under section 235(b)(2)(A) of the INA, 8 U.S.C. § 1225(b)(2)(A), and must be detained for the duration of their removal proceedings. [Emphasis added]
…

Aliens, like the respondent, who surreptitiously cross into the United States remain applicants for admission until and unless they are lawfully inspected and admitted by an immigration officer.

Remaining in the United States for a lengthy period of time following entry without inspection, by itself, does not constitute an “admission.” Likewise, being arrested pursuant to a warrant and placed into removal proceedings does not constitute an admission. Therefore, just as Immigration Judges have no authority to redetermine the custody of arriving aliens who present themselves at a port of entry, they likewise have no authority to redetermine the custody conditions of an alien who crossed the border unlawfully without inspection, even if that alien has avoided apprehension for more than 2 years. [Emphasis added]

In a statement to the Los Angeles Times, Department of Homeland Security (DHS) spokeswoman Tricia McLaughlin said the decision is a “big win for our [Immigration and Customs Enforcement] attorneys securing our ability to detain illegal aliens until they are deported.”

ICE officials, in July, issued a memo clarifying that illegal aliens are not eligible for bond hearings under the INA because they are subject to mandatory detention.

https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2...ory-detention/