Fifth Circuit rules immigrants can be detained indefinitely without bond hearings

A divided Fifth Circuit panel ruled 2-1 on February 6, 2026 in Buenrostro-Mendez v. Bondi that any immigrant present in the U.S. without formal admission qualifies as an "applicant for admission" under 8 U.S.C. § 1225(b)(2)(A), triggering mandatory detention with no bond hearing — regardless of how long they have lived in the country. Judge Edith Jones wrote the majority opinion, joined by Trump-appointee Judge Kyle Duncan; Biden-appointee Judge Dana Douglas dissented, warning that under the majority's logic "the border is now everywhere" and ICE agents in Texas, Louisiana, or Mississippi could detain any long-term resident with no judicial review. The ruling reversed three decades of immigration court practice, contradicted over 350 federal judges' prior rulings, and was issued just three days after oral argument. An estimated 15,000 immigrants in the Fifth Circuit region faced immediate risk of indefinite detention without a bond hearing.