Fifth Circuit En Banc Holds, 10-7, That Immigrants Detained Under the Mandatory-Detention Provision Are Not Entitled to Bond Hearings, Reversing Habeas Grants to Three Texas Men

Sitting en banc on Oct. 23, 2026, the Fifth Circuit held that three Texas men, “three aliens who had been living unlawfully in the United States for many years,” were not entitled to individual hearings on dangerousness or flight risk before being detained pending removal proceedings, and reversed the district courts’ decisions and vacated their grants of habeas relief. Judge Cory Wilson wrote for the majority; the Texas Tribune reports the vote as 10-7 and quotes Judge Leslie Southwick’s dissent describing an “impenetrable wall between the Constitution and these long-term residents.” The ruling displaces the panel decision, which had found a right to individualized hearings.

This is the merits ruling the en banc order (see 2026-07-10–5th-circuit-en-banc-reinstates-mandatory-detention) set up: the court that vacated the panel’s due-process holding has now rejected it. The Tribune reports the Trump administration announced its no-bond policy in July 2025 and that the Supreme Court has agreed to hear a separate but similar challenge (2026-10-01–scotus-grants-review-rhoney-v-barbosa-da-cunha-mandatory-detention-no-bond).