US Courts Free Indian Migrants, Rule Detention Violates Due Process

The decisions, issued by courts in states including California, Colorado, Pennsylvania, Michigan, Kentucky, and New Jersey, largely involve Indian asylum seekers who had previously been released by immigration authorities but were later re-detained under a new government interpretation of immigration law that judges across the country are increasingly rejecting.

Of the cases reviewed by the courts, about 12 Indian migrants were ordered to be released immediately, while three others were granted bond hearings to determine whether their continued detention was justified.

In multiple rulings, judges said immigration authorities improperly detained migrants under provisions meant for people "seeking admission" at the border, even though the detainees had already been living inside the United States for months or years.

Federal courts held that such migrants should instead fall under a different section of immigration law that allows a bond hearing before an immigration judge to determine whether they pose a flight risk or danger to the community.

Among the Indian nationals whose detention was challenged were Sukhdev Singh, Gurvinder Singh, Resham Singh, Sandeep Singh, Sagar Sagar, Himanshu Himanshu, Vicky Vicky, Sanjay Kumar, Jasvir Singh, Fateh Singh, Sudhanshu Mulyan, Deepak Malik, Harkirat Singh, Jaswinder Singh, and Rishi Pal.

Several courts ordered the migrants' immediate release, noting that authorities had failed to demonstrate any criminal history or risk to public safety.

In some cases, judges barred immigration authorities from re-detaining individuals unless the government first proved at a hearing that they posed a danger to the community or a flight risk.

In Pennsylvania, a federal court ordered the release of Sanjay Kumar, who had been detained despite living in the United States since 2023 and applying for asylum while complying with immigration check-ins.

Other courts ordered the government to provide prompt bond hearings rather than keep migrants in mandatory detention. In Colorado, for example, a federal judge directed authorities to hold a bond hearing within seven days for Harkirat Singh so that an immigration judge could determine whether his continued detention was justified.

Judges emphasised that noncitizens inside the United States are entitled to constitutional protections under the Fifth Amendment.

"The Due Process Clause applies to all 'persons' within the United States, including noncitizens," one ruling noted while examining the legality of immigration detention.

The rulings reflect a growing judicial pushback against a policy shift by immigration authorities that sought to expand the use of mandatory detention for migrants who entered the country without inspection but had been living in the United States.

Courts have increasingly concluded that such migrants are not "seeking admission" to the United States and therefore cannot automatically be placed in mandatory detention without the opportunity to seek bond.

Under US law, immigration detainees may challenge their detention through habeas corpus petitions in federal court when they believe they are being held in violation of the Constitution or federal statutes.

Although immigration proceedings against the migrants are continuing, the court orders mean many of them will remain free while their cases move forward through the immigration system.

- IANS