Federal appeals court compares Trump migrant detention policy to Japanese American internment
A Trump administration policy to detain migrants on bond without a chance for release harkens back to the mass detention of Japanese Americans during World War II, a federal court...
By Fox News · Fox News
A Trump administration policy to detain migrants on bond without a chance for release harkens back to the mass detention of Japanese Americans during World War II , a federal court said Thursday. In a 2-1 decision, the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals rejected the administration's mass detention policy, a major part of President Donald Trump's mass deportation agenda. "Mass detention of marginalized individuals without due process harkens back to some of the darkest moments in our country’s history," the court wrote. BIDEN JUDGE OVERRULED ON KEY TRUMP IMMIGRATION POLICY Nine federal appeals courts have now separately ruled that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) new mandatory detention policy is illegal, concluding it could apply to recent arrivals at or near the border but not to migrants determined to be living elsewhere within the country. Two other appeals courts have upheld it, meaning the U.S. Supreme Court is likely to take up the case in its upcoming term. TRUMP SCORES SCOTUS ASYLUM WIN — BUT LIBERAL JUSTICE WARNS IT COULD BACKFIRE AT BORDER Immigrant rights groups say basic due process is being violated when longtime residents are denied bond hearings during removal proceedings. "The courts have resoundingly rejected the administration’s cruel policy and its blatant disrespect for the rule of law," said My Khanh Ngo, senior staff attorney with the ACLU’s Immigrants’ Rights Project. "We are thrilled for our clients and their families." Mass arrests of suspected illegal immigrants during President Donald Trump's second term have prompted widespread protests, particularly in Democratic-led cities like Chicago. In July 2025, the administration announced it would detain every migrant found anywhere in the U.S. whom ICE determines was not granted permission to enter. A Department of Homeland Security spokesperson said the agency was disappointed with Thursday's decision but said it recently sought a Supreme Court review of a similar decision from…