Immigration Explained

Last Friday, the Fifth Circuit held that many immigrants arrested inside the U.S. after unlawful entry can be treated as “applicants for admission” under the Immigration Code and can be detained without bond while their removal cases proceed.The opinion has dranw considerable attention as the first circuit-level treatment of an issue that affects about two million people nationwide.

As the majority begins, the specific statutory interpretation issue “while novel is not recondite.” It can be summarized as follows – whether the highlighted language establishes two conditions for detention, or only one that appears in two different places:

Buenrostro-Mendez v. Bondi, No. 25-20496 (Feb. 6, 2026).