2nd Circuit Rejects Trump ICE Detention Policy, Boosting CA Immigrants

The 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New York unanimously ruled on April 28, 2026, against the Trump administration's reinterpretation of a 1990s immigration law, which had mandated detention without bond hearings for nearly all immigrants facing deportation, including those living in California for decades. Judge Joseph F. Bianco, a Trump appointee, wrote for the panel that the policy represented 'the broadest mass-detention-without-bond mandate in our Nation's history,' defying the law's plain text and straining detention systems nationwide. While the decision governs Connecticut, New York and Vermont, it bolsters dozens of similar challenges in California's federal courts, where ICE operates major facilities like those in San Diego and Los Angeles holding over 10,000 immigrants annually.

In California, the policy had ensnared long-term residents like Brazilian national Ricardo Aparecido Barbosa da Cunha, detained despite no criminal record beyond immigration violations, mirroring cases from Los Angeles to the Central Valley. Previously, noncitizens arrested away from the border—common in farmworker-heavy regions like Fresno and Riverside—could request bond if deemed low flight risks, a practice upended last year by DHS under Secretary Markwayne Mullin. Immigrant advocates in San Francisco hailed the ruling, noting it aligns with hundreds of federal trial judges rejecting the policy, against minority endorsements from the 5th and 8th Circuits.

DHS vowed to appeal, claiming 'ICE has the law and the facts on its side' and citing Supreme Court precedents, as California's detention centers face lawsuits from groups like the ACLU Northern California. The decision deepens a national circuit split, with the 3rd Circuit expected to weigh in soon, potentially fast-tracking the issue to the Supreme Court and affecting California's 2 million undocumented residents. Local ICE data shows a 25% detention spike since the policy's rollout, prompting Gov. Gavin Newsom's office to reiterate California's sanctuary protections against federal overreach.