{"id":2571609,"date":"2026-02-19T18:45:57","date_gmt":"2026-02-19T23:45:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/eighth-circuit-may-give-trump-another-win-on-mandatory-immigration-detention\/"},"modified":"2026-02-19T18:48:34","modified_gmt":"2026-02-19T23:48:34","slug":"eighth-circuit-may-give-trump-another-win-on-mandatory-immigration-detention","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/eighth-circuit-may-give-trump-another-win-on-mandatory-immigration-detention\/","title":{"rendered":"Eighth Circuit may give Trump another win on mandatory immigration detention"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">22<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Feighth-circuit-may-give-trump-another-win-on-mandatory-immigration-detention%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2571609&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>&#8211; The Washington Examiner reports that a three-judge panel of the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals appeared sympathetic to the Trump governance\u2019s position that federal immigration law allows mandatory detention of illegal immigrants without bond hearings for those detained inside the country.<\/p>\n<p>&#8211; This follows the 5th Circuit\u2019s earlier ruling upholding the policy, marking a <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\" >rare appellate win amid numerous district-court losses<\/a> and increasing the case\u2019s potential path to the Supreme Court.<\/p>\n<p>&#8211; The argument pitted Tan, representing an illegal immigrant detainee, who argued that the 1996 IIRIRA did not extend mandatory detention to interior detainees, against DOJ attorney Drew Ensign, who contended that Congress intended to eliminate preferential treatment and uphold the administration\u2019s policy.<\/p>\n<p>&#8211; The panel, which included two Trump-appointed judges and one Bush-appointed judge, did not indicate when it would issue a decision, though there was a sense that a speedy ruling would be favorable to the goverment.<\/p>\n<p>&#8211; A decision by the 8th Circuit could affect hundreds of detention cases across its states (Arkansas, Iowa, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, south Dakota) and perhaps create a circuit split with the 5th Circuit, raising the likelihood of Supreme Court review.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<p><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><\/p>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-header-search-button-mob dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search\" aria-labelledby=\"td-header-search-button\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search-inner\">\n<form method=\"get\" class=\"tdb-search-form\" action=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\"><\/form>\n<div class=\"tdb-aj-search\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/#\" role=\"button\" aria-label=\"Search\" class=\"tdb-head-search-btn dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<h1 class=\"tdb-title-text\">Eighth Circuit may give Trump another win on mandatory immigration detention<\/h1>\n<div><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-title-line\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div id=\"Brid_2500904\" class=\"tpd-featured-video bridtv\"><\/div>\n<p>Another federal <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/appeals-courts\/\">appeals court<\/a> could hand President <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/donald-trump\/\">Donald Trump<\/a> a victory in his legal war over mandatory detention for <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/illegal-immigrants\/\">illegal immigration<\/a>, as a panel on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 8th Circuit appeared friendly to the administration&rsquo;s stance during arguments on Thursday.<\/p>\n<p>The Trump administration won a <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/justice\/4453999\/lower-courts-undermine-trump-appeals-win-immigrant-detention\/\">key legal victory<\/a> in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit earlier this month, when the appeals court upheld the Trump administration&rsquo;s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/lower-courts-undermine-trumps-appeals-court-win-on-immigration-detention\/\" title=\"Lower ...s undermine ...&#039;s ... on ... detention\">illegal immigrant mandatory detention policy<\/a>, rejecting claims by opponents of the administration that bond hearings are required for illegal immigrants. The ruling was the first time an appeals court had upheld the policy, after the administration faced hundreds of losses in federal district courts, as the problem inches closer to the Supreme Court.<\/p>\n<div class=\"recommended-stories\">\n<h2>Recommended Stories<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/investigations\/4461671\/ice-battle-local-democrats-convert-warehouses-detention-centers\/\">Inside ICE&#8217;s battle with local Democrats to convert warehouses into detention centers<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/policy\/immigration\/4459326\/small-security-force-stay-minnesota-despite-ice-surge-ending-tom-homan\/\">Small &#8216;security force&#8217; to stay in Minnesota despite ICE surge ending: Homan<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/policy\/immigration\/4457777\/republicans-against-ice-detention-centers-economic-concerns\/\">Republicans rise up against new ICE detention centers, appealing to DHS on infrastructural and economic concerns&nbsp;<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-paywall\">\n<p>On Thursday, a three-judge panel on the 8th Circuit, which comprises mostly Republican-appointed judges, appeared skeptical of the arguments from Michael Tan, a lawyer representing an illegal immigrant detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement, that <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/cruz-at-bidens-border-crisis-most-horrific-thing-ive-ever-seen-infants-little-kids-struggling\/\" title=\"Cruz At Biden\u2019s Border Crisis: \u2018Most Horrific Thing I\u2019ve Ever Seen,\u2019 Infants, Little Kids Struggling\">federal immigration law requires<\/a> a bond hearing for illegal immigrants detained in the interior of the country. Tan and DOJ lawyer Drew Ensign offered differing opinions on what the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act, a 1996 law outlining immigration detention procedures, states about Trump&rsquo;s mandatory detention policy.<\/p>\n<p>Ensign argued the 1996 law removed the right to a bond hearing for people detained in the interior of the country, placing illegal immigrants detained at a port of entry and those detained in the interior under the same standard of mandatory detention.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Congress specifically sought to eliminate this preferential treatment for illegal actions in IIRIRA, and I think that&rsquo;s a policy choice that should be respected here,&rdquo; Ensign argued.<\/p>\n<p>Tan argued that while the IIRIRA enacted mandatory detention for illegal immigrants who committed crimes, it did not expand that mandatory detention to illegal immigrants detained in the interior of the country. He cast doubt on the DOJ&rsquo;s view by arguing the Trump administration is attempting to claim an authority that &ldquo;somehow escaped everyone&rsquo;s notice for the last 30 years.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;What the executive is doing is abandoning the choice Congress made in order to advance its own policy goals, and it&rsquo;s doing that despite more than 370 federal judges rejecting government overreach,&rdquo; Tan told the appeals court panel.<\/p>\n<p>Tan&rsquo;s position was met with significant skepticism by the panel, with one of the judges questioning if his position would be asking the court to affirm how immigration detention law functioned prior to IIRIRA.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Doesn&rsquo;t your position return us to the pre-IIRIRA framework, where those who enter the country without permission gain a procedural advantage over those who seek to enter lawfully?&rdquo; one judge asked Tan.<\/p>\n<p>Another judge said he had &ldquo;a little trouble understanding&rdquo; Tan&rsquo;s argument regarding who would not be subject to mandatory detention, when it appears the law would broadly include illegal immigrants detained throughout the country.<\/p>\n<p>The panel of judges who heard the case Thursday included two appointed by Trump, judges Ralph Erickson and L. Steven Grasz, and one appointed by former President George W. Bush, Judge Bobby Shepherd. The judges did not indicate when they will issue a ruling, but Ensign told the panel if they are &ldquo;able to issue an opinion quickly, that would be extraordinarily well received by the government.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>The ruling by the 8th Circuit panel will have a significant impact on the fate of hundreds of mandatory detention challenges in Minnesota, where the administration has faced an avalanche of lawsuits over illegal immigrant detention during <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/8th-circuit-may-give-trump-another-win-on-mandatory-immigration-detention\/\" title=\"... Circuit may give ... another win on ...\">increased federal immigration enforcement operations<\/a> in recent months. The 8th Circuit&rsquo;s ruling, either in favor or against the administration&rsquo;s mandatory detention policy, will be the position that federal district courts in Arkansas, Iowa, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, and South Dakota will have to follow on the matter.<\/p>\n<p>If the 8th Circuit rules against the administration on mandatory detention, counter to the 5th Circuit&rsquo;s ruling, it would create a circuit split between the appeals courts and make the issue more likely to be taken up by the Supreme Court.<\/p>\n<p><strong><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/justice\/4453999\/lower-courts-undermine-trump-appeals-win-immigrant-detention\/\">LOWER COURTS UNDERMINE TRUMP&rsquo;S APPEALS COURT WIN ON IMMIGRATION DETENTION<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Even if the 8th Circuit does not create a split on the issue, the matter is making its way through other appeals courts, and a split between the circuits appears inevitable.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;This is one of those things the Supreme Court needs to resolve sooner rather than later, because this is sapping the vital energy out of the district courts and out of DOJ because there are just so many of these cases,&rdquo; &nbsp;Andrew Arthur, the Center for Immigration&rsquo;s resident fellow in law and policy, previously <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/justice\/4453999\/lower-courts-undermine-trump-appeals-win-immigrant-detention\/\">told<\/a> the&nbsp;<em>Washington Examiner<\/em>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>8th Circuit may spark Trump detention win<\/p>\n<p>&#8211; A panel of the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals seemed open to the Trump administration\u2019s stance on mandatory detention for illegal entrants, challenging the argument that interior detainees must have bond hearings.<br \/>\n&#8211; The case centers on the 1996 IIRIRA law. DOJ argues it removes the right to bond hearings for interior detainees and applies the same standard to interior and port-of-entry detainees, while the defense contends IIRIRA did not expand mandatory detention to interior detainees.<br \/>\n&#8211; The plaintiff\u2019s lawyer, Michael Tan, argued the executive branch is overstepping by claiming authority that wasn\u2019t obvious for 30 years; DOJ attorney Drew Ensign defended the government\u2019s position.<br \/>\n&#8211; The three-judge panel included two Trump appointees (Ralph Erickson and L. Steven Grasz) and a Bush appointee (Bobby Shepherd). They did not indicate when a ruling might come.<br \/>\n&#8211; A ruling could influence hundreds of detention challenges in Minnesota and other states, and a divergence with the 5th Circuit could push the issue toward the Supreme Court<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2638,"featured_media":2571610,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/AP26015800861883.jpg?w=696","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[538],"tags":[74151,32712,57627,74152,3634],"class_list":["post-2571609","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-washington-examiner","tag-eighth-circuit","tag-federal-courts","tag-immigration-detention","tag-mandatory-detention","tag-trump"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/AP26015800861883.jpg?w=696","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2571609","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2638"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2571609"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2571609\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2571613,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2571609\/revisions\/2571613"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2571610"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2571609"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2571609"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2571609"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}