A Feb. 6 ruling from the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals states that illegal aliens who never presented themselves at a port of entry can be held without a bond until they are deported.
A three-judge panel voted 2-1 to reverse a lower court's decision.
Victor Buenrostro-Mendez had sued US Attorney General Pam Bondi, Department of Homeland Security Kristi Noem, U. S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Acting Director Todd Lyons, Acting ICE Houston Field Office Director Matthew Baker, ICE John Linscott, ICE Director of Houston Contract Detention Facility, and Houston Warden Contract Detention Facility of CoreCivic Martin Frink.
The case was consolidated with a separate lawsuit from Jose Padron Covarrubias against immigration officials. Both people entered the U.S. illegally.
Circuit Court Judges Stuart Kyle Duncan and Edith H. Jones decided the case, while Judge Dana Douglas dissented.
“Undeterred, the petitioners argue that ‘applicant for admission’ is a term of art, so it cannot be understood according to its ordinary meaning," the majority wrote. "But the remaining provisions of § 1225 confirm that applicants for admission are indeed necessarily seeking admission.”
The ruling continued: “Each of them entered illegally many years ago. As such, the government contends, because neither petitioner showed himself to be “clearly and beyond a doubt entitled to be admitted,” he 'shall be detained' pending his removal proceeding.”
The two judges slammed the lower courts for wrong inferences that would give the illegal immigrants either a bond hearing or a release.
"In particular, they seem to infer that when the Supreme Court specified that § 1226 applies to aliens inside the United States, it implied that § 1225 does not apply to such aliens. But this is the exact sort of language-parsing inquiry that the Supreme Court has cautioned lower courts against."
The 43-page ruling concluded:
“We REVERSE the district courts’ orders to provide petitioners with bond hearings or release them and REMAND for further proceedings consistent with this opinion.”
Kristi Noem welcomed the ruling.
For months, activist judges have ordered the release of alien after alien based on the false claim that DHS was breaking the law.
— Secretary Kristi Noem (@Sec_Noem) February 7, 2026
Today, the first court of appeals to address the question ruled that @DHSGov was right all along. pic.twitter.com/oHKZxPuC6x
25-20496-CV0 by scott.mcclallen
🚨 The 5th Circuit has REVERSED two district court habeas orders, holding that noncitizens present in the United States without admission are subject to MANDATORY detention WITHOUT a bond while removal proceedings are pending. pic.twitter.com/jBaAxYq989
— SCOTUS Wire (@scotus_wire) February 7, 2026
To put some (hopefully ) helpful context to the 2-1 decision by the 5th Circuit court that upheld the Trump administration's interpretation of federal law that does not distinguish between those caught at the border and those who snuck in:
— Julie Kelly 🇺🇸 (@julie_kelly2) February 7, 2026
Hundreds of federal judges claim if an… pic.twitter.com/TtTVhfIkcZ
🚨🚨ENORMOUS Immigration win for President Trump. The Fifth Circuit, the first federal court to address President Trump's expedited removal efforts, sides with the administration. Illegal aliens may be detained and removed! Judge Jones, joined by Duncan. Judge Douglas dissents. pic.twitter.com/4K89hrb59T
— Eric W. (@EWess92) February 7, 2026
This decision is massively important - one of the most important of the year. It means that if you are an illegal alien who never presented themselves at a port of entry, and ICE finds you, you can and must be detained without bail.
— Will Chamberlain (@willchamberlain) February 7, 2026
The knock on effects from this will be… https://t.co/9pOKNmkw9W
#BREAKING: Fifth circuit court upholds ruling that illegals can be detained without bond.
— Insider Wire (@InsiderWire) February 7, 2026
We could be living in a very different country right now if Judge Edith Jones had been elevated to the Supreme Court circa 1990.
— Jeff Clark (@JeffClarkUS) February 7, 2026
But alas, we must content and console ourselves with the fact that she continues to serve with distinction on the Fifth Circuit.
Here she is knocking… https://t.co/NbjCdieTXq