A federal appeals court on Wednesday handed the Trump administration a green light to lock up illegal immigrants without bond.
Mexican national Joaquin Herrera Avila was detained in Minneapolis in August and could not provide proof that he was allowed to be in the U.S. He was detained without bond pending deportation, according to Fox News.
A district court in Minnesota gave Avila the chance to challenge his detention, but the appellate court overturned the ruling.
“We reverse and remand [that ruling] for proceedings consistent with this opinion,” the Eighth Circuit ruled Wednesday. Judge Bobby Shepherd of Arkansas, an appointee of former President George W. Bush, wrote the opinion for the majority in the 2-1 ruling.
Shepherd said the district court ruling classed Avila as “an alien who is an applicant for admission [or] seeking admission …” but noted that because Avila did not seek naturalization or asylum, from a legal perspective, he was not “seeking admission.”
“Being ‘admitted’ does not merely mean being present in the United States,” the ruling wrote, according to The New York Times.
“Under immigration law, it signifies having made a lawful entry into the country,” the ruling said.
MASSIVE COURT VICTORY against activist judges and for President Trump’s law and order agenda!
The Eighth Circuit has held that illegal aliens can be detained without bond — following a similar ruling from the Fifth Circuit last month.
The law is very clear, but Democrats and…
— Attorney General Pamela Bondi (@AGPamBondi) March 25, 2026
“MASSIVE COURT VICTORY against activist judges and for President Trump’s law and order agenda!” Attorney General Pam Bondi posted on X.
“The Eighth Circuit has held that illegal aliens can be detained without bond — following a similar ruling from the Fifth Circuit last month. The law is very clear, but Democrats and activist judges haven’t wanted to enforce it,” Bondi wrote. “This administration WILL.
“Imagine how many illegal alien crimes could have been averted if the left had simply followed the law? Our attorneys @thejusticedept will never stop fighting for President Trump’s agenda,” she wrote.
🚨 TRUMP WINS BIG IN COURT, AGAIN!
The 8th Circuit just OVERTURNED an activist judge and upheld ICE’s mass detention policy in a 2-1 ruling.
Key decision: Illegal aliens already inside the U.S. CAN be detained without bond during removal proceedings.
This is a massive victory… pic.twitter.com/wLInwNgQTG
— Gunther Eagleman™ (@GuntherEagleman) March 25, 2026
The Eighth Circuit Court covers Arkansas, Iowa, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota and South Dakota.
That means the ruling would cover the DHS cases from Minneapolis, where a major immigration enforcement operation took place, according to The Hill.
BREAKING NOW
The 8th Circuit Court has just OVERTURNED an activist judge’s ruling – uphold policy that illegal aliens already residing in the US can be detained without bond during their removal proceedings.
A HUGE win for President Trump and his immigration policies! pic.twitter.com/k6HMe9AJlR
— Conservative Brief (@ConservBrief) March 25, 2026
The Fifth Circuit, which made a similar ruling in February, covers Texas, Mississippi, and Louisiana.
More than 1,000 people detained in Minnesota have petitioned to be released from detention, according to the Minneapolis Star-Tribune.
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