Mony Preap v. Jeh Johnson

Every day in the United States, the government holds over 30,000 aliens in prison-like conditions while determining whether they should be removed from the country. Some are held because they were found, in a bond hearing, to pose a risk of flight or dangerousness. 8 U.S.C. § 1226 (a); 8 C.F.R. § 1236.1 (d). Others, however, are held without bond because they have committed an offense enumerated in a provision of the Immigration and Naturalization Act (“INA”). 8 U.S.C. § 1226 (c). Aliens in this latter group are subject to the INA’s mandatory detention provision, which requires immigration authorities to detain them “when [they are] released” from criminal custody, 8 U.S.C. § 1226 (c)(1), and to hold them without bond, 8 U.S.C. § 1226 (c)(2). A broad range of crimes is covered under the mandatory detention provision, from serious felonies to misdemeanor offenses involving moral turpitude and simple possession of a controlled substance. 8 U.S.C. §§ 1226 (c)(l)(A)-(D).

This mandatory detention provision has been challenged on various grounds. See, e.g., Demore v. Kim, 538 U.S. 510, 513 , 123 S.Ct. 1708 , 155 L.Ed.2d 724 (2003) (upholding the constitutionality of the…