Demore v. Kim
Headline: Upheld mandatory short-term detention of green card holders convicted of certain crimes, allowing the Government to hold criminal immigrants without bail during their immigration court proceedings.
Holding: The Court ruled that Congress may require the detention without bail of green card holders convicted of listed crimes for the brief period needed to complete removal proceedings, reversing the Ninth Circuit's contrary decision.
- Allows detention without bail during removal proceedings for convicted green card holders.
- Reduces availability of bond hearings for people with listed criminal convictions.
- Likely increases Government ability to keep deportable criminal aliens in custody.
Summary
Background
The case involved a South Korean man who came to the United States as a child and became a lawful permanent resident (a green card holder). He was convicted in state court of first-degree burglary and petty theft with priors. The Immigration and Naturalization Service detained him under a federal law that requires detention without bail for certain criminal convictions while removal (deportation) proceedings move forward. He filed a federal habeas challenge arguing the mandatory detention violated due process.
Reasoning
The Court asked whether Congress may require brief, mandatory detention for people in this situation while their removal proceedings proceed. The majority said yes. It relied on congressional findings that many criminal immigrants released pending hearings either reoffended or failed to appear, and it distinguished an earlier case (Zadvydas) because detention under this law is typically short. The Court also considered, and resolved, a dispute about whether courts have jurisdiction to hear such habeas claims and proceeded to reverse the Ninth Circuit.
Real world impact
The ruling lets the Government continue to detain green card holders convicted of the listed crimes without a bail hearing while immigration courts decide removability. Most detentions, the Government reported, end in weeks to a few months; some cases take longer if appeals occur. The opinion notes existing administrative procedures (a so-called Joseph hearing) that can test whether an individual truly falls into the mandatory-detention category.
Dissents or concurrances
Justices wrote separately: one concurrence urged some individualized check that the charge has merit; another would have read the statute as barring court habeas review; a dissent argued that permanent residents deserve an individualized bail hearing before confinement.
Opinions in this case:
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