Federal Appeals Court Rejects Detention of Illegal Immigrants Living in US Without Bond

The 11th Circuit’s decision deepens a divide among multiple federal appeals courts that have ruled on the issue.

People detained earlier in the day are taken to a parking lot on the far north side of the city before being transferred to an Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility in Chicago on Oct. 31, 2025. Jamie Kelter Davis/Getty Images

A federal appeals court on Wednesday rejected the Trump administration’s no-bond policy of detaining illegal immigrants living in the United States while they go through removal proceedings.

A divided three-judge panel for the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit ruled that the federal government’s interpretation of immigration law does not apply to illegal noncitizens already within the country as opposed to those at the border.