Trump administration asks Supreme Court to OK its unprecedented immigration detention policy

Source: Politico

06/26/2026 04:45 PM EDT


The Trump administration is asking the Supreme Court to bless its massive expansion of ICE detention — a policy that federal district courts have overwhelmingly rejected.

Solicitor General John Sauer is urging the justices to resolve whether people residing in the U.S. without incident for years — sometimes decades — may be subject to mandatory ICE detention while their deportation proceedings play out. It’s a fight that could determine the fate of millions of people, and it could also help define the reach of due process rights for those accused of being in the country illegally.

The Justice Department is asking the justices to sign off on a policy that has been overwhelmingly rejected by federal district court judges across the country, who have described it as a draconian violation of the law and constitutional due process rights. Judges have delivered more than 9,300 rulings against the administration’s unprecedented policy, which targets people who have resided in the U.S. for years and requires them to be detained without the opportunity for a bond hearing while their deportation proceedings are underway.

Despite the lopsided result in district courts, Sauer described an “untenable divide” at the appeals court level. Five appellate circuits have ruled on the issue, breaking 3-2 against the administration. A divide among appeals courts typically makes the Supreme Court more likely to intervene.

Read more: https://www.politico.com/news/2026/06/26/trump-ice-detention-supreme-court-00978482