Eleventh Circuit Rejects Trump No-Bond Detention Policy in Hernandez Alvarez, Splitting From the Fifth and Eighth Circuits

With a file-stamp of 05/06/2026, the Eleventh Circuit decided Hernandez Alvarez v. Warden, Federal Detention Center Miami and affirmed the grants of habeas relief. Judge Marcus wrote for a panel with Judges Rosenbaum and Lagoa; Judge Lagoa dissented. The court wrote: “We are unpersuaded by the Government’s re-interpretation of § 1225(b)(2)(A).” Noncitizens arrested in the interior were therefore eligible for bond hearings.

The opinion counts four other circuits that had already weighed in, “reaching well-reasoned yet distinctly contrary conclusions”: the Second Circuit (Apr. 28, 2026, see 2026-04-28–second-circuit-rules-ice-mandatory-detention-policy-illegal) against the government, the Fifth (Buenrostro-Mendez) and Eighth (Avila) for it, and the Seventh (Castañon-Nava). The Supreme Court later granted review in the Second Circuit case (2026-10-01–scotus-grants-review-rhoney-v-barbosa-da-cunha-mandatory-detention-no-bond).

Related: 2026-05-08–washington-post-voluntary-departure-orders-80000-detention-coercion.