Background
Petitioners are noncitizens without lawful status who were arrested and detained by immigration authorities in the United States. They filed petitions for writs of habeas corpus in federal district courts, arguing their detention under 8 U.S.C. Section 1225(b)(2)(A) was unlawful and that they were denied due process rights by not receiving bond hearings. The district courts granted the petitions, ruling that the government should have detained the petitioners under 8 U.S.C. Section 1226, which permits bond hearings, rather than the mandatory detention scheme of Section 1225.
The court’s reasoning
The court analyzed the statutory text of 8 U.S.C. Section 1225(b)(2)(A) and determined that the phrase seeking admission requires an affirmative act by the noncitizen to apply for lawful entry. The court found that the petitioners, who were already in the interior and had not attempted to seek admission, did not fall under the mandatory detention scheme. The court rejected the government’s argument that all applicants for admission are necessarily seeking admission, noting that Congress defined applicant for admission separately and that the government’s interpretation would render the word seeking superfluous. The court also considered the lack of logistical safeguards in the statute for such a broad mandatory detention scheme and the government’s long-standing practice of treating such individuals under the permissive detention statute. Regarding due process, the court affirmed that noncitizens in the interior are entitled to notice and an opportunity to be heard, which includes a bond hearing under the applicable permissive detention statute.
We therefore find that an applicant for admission is not necessarily seeking admission.
Lopez-Campos v. Raycraft, 26a0139p.06 (6th Cir. 2026)
The dissent
What it means going forward
The ruling ensures that noncitizens detained in the interior who did not actively seek admission are subject to the permissive detention scheme, granting them access to bond hearings to determine flight risk and dangerousness.
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