Divided Eleventh Circuit rules against mandatory detention without bond hearings

A divided panel of the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals ruled on May 7, 2026, that federal immigration law does not require mandatory detention without bond hearings for people arrested in the interior of the United States who entered without authorization. The ruling in Alvarez v. Warden, Federal Detention Center Miami deepened the circuit split by aligning with the Second Circuit against the Fifth and Eighth Circuits, covering detention facilities in Florida, Georgia, and Alabama.