The Council and partners filed an amicus brief in the Supreme Court in Genalo v. Keisy G.M., a case where the Court will decide whether the Constitution requires that noncitizens receive a bond hearing if their detention becomes unreasonably prolonged. The case involves a mandatory detention statute, 8 U.S.C. § 1226(c), that applies to noncitizens with certain criminal convictions. In 2003, the Supreme Court held that § 1226(c) did not violate the Constitution where it authorized the detention of people for a “brief period” without a bond hearing. The Genalo case will decide whether it violates due process for the government to hold people for many months or years under § 1226(c) without a hearing to determine whether their detention is actually necessary to ensure that they will appear for their immigration court dates or to protect the public.
Amicus Brief
The Council’s amicus brief provides real-world examples highlighting the harmful consequences of lengthy detention under § 1226(c). First, it explains that § 1226(c) mandates detention for people with very minor criminal convictions, whose convictions are many years old, and who pose no threat to public safety. Then the brief illustrates the extreme hardship detained people suffer through lengthy detention, including squalid and unsafe conditions. Minorities suffer additional harms, as the government fails to provide them with religious accommodations or ensure they are unable to access information in a language they understand. Family members of detained people also suffer profound harms. Finally, the brief discusses the obstacles that prolonged detention creates to defending against removal, causing people with strong claims to endure lengthy detention before ultimately winning their cases.
Partners
The American Immigration Council was joined in this amicus brief by the American Immigration Lawyers Association, the Asian Law Caucus, RAICES, the Sikh Coalition, and the South Asian American Justice Collaborative. Amici were represented by Jenner & Block LLP.
