June 26 (UPI) — The U.S. Supreme Court said Monday it will rehear an unresolved immigration case to determine whether the federal government has the authority to detain migrants indefinitely while their legal status is being determined.
The high court said it will hear arguments in Jennings v. Rodriguez, a case involving an immigrant who was detained for three years without ever receiving a bond hearing before a federal judge.
The government has previously contended that undocumented immigrants identified for possible deportation are not guaranteed a bond hearing and can be held for an indefinite period of time during the process.
The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the government cannot legally hold migrants for such long periods of time. The government appealed to the Supreme Court, which heard the case last fall — before Justice Neil Gorsuch filled the vacancy left by the death of Antonin Scalia — but didn’t make a ruling.
The American Civil Liberties Union, which has filed a class-action lawsuit on the matter, secured the release of the immigrant in the case, Alejandro Rodriguez, and the cancellation of his deportation order.
The 9th Circuit Court ruled that immigrants are owed at least one bond hearing every six months — and that to detain an immigrant, the government must show cause that the person poses a risk to public safety or flight from prosecution.
The Supreme Court also said Monday it will hear the case involving President Donald Trump’s controversial executive order to bar U.S. entry for migrants from six largely Muslim countries in the Middle East and Africa.
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