{"id":2640373,"date":"2026-08-04T14:37:01","date_gmt":"2026-08-04T18:37:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/trumps-lopsided-losing-record-on-ice-detention-masks-a-closer-legal-fight\/"},"modified":"2026-08-04T14:44:31","modified_gmt":"2026-08-04T18:44:31","slug":"trumps-lopsided-losing-record-on-ice-detention-masks-a-closer-legal-fight","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/trumps-lopsided-losing-record-on-ice-detention-masks-a-closer-legal-fight\/","title":{"rendered":"Trump\u2019s lopsided losing record on ICE detention masks a closer legal fight"},"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\">24<\/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%2Ftrumps-lopsided-losing-record-on-ice-detention-masks-a-closer-legal-fight%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=2640373&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>The article examines the legal outcomes faced by the Trump governance&#8217;s immigration detention policy, which has experienced a 6-2 record of defeats in appellate courts. Though, it highlights that the pattern of rulings is influenced significantly by the ideological makeup of the judges on the panels, with victories frequently enough stemming from Republican-appointed judges and defeats from Democrat-appointed judges. These decisions are made by randomly assigned three-judge panels, which can make the legal landscape appear more partisan than it actually is.The core legal issue revolves around ICE\u2019s interpretation of federal immigration law,specifically whether immigrants detained for years under the revised July 2025 policy can be held without bond. Experts argue that many courts have misread the law,and the Supreme Court&#8217;s upcoming decisions will be pivotal in clarifying legalstandards. The article notes a growing circuit split among different appellate courts, emphasizing the likelihood that the Supreme Court will ultimately resolve the inconsistencies and establish a definitive legal position on the detention policy.  <\/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<article class=\"fn-body\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/donald-trump\/\">Trump administration\u2019s<\/a> 6-2 losing record in appeals courts over its mandatory <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/immigration\/\">immigration<\/a> detention policy looks like an overwhelming streak of losses. However, a closer examination of the judges behind those decisions suggests the policy may be less legally doomed than the scoreboard implies.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Several of the legal defeats against <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.ice.gov\/doclib\/detention-standards\/2025\/nds2025.pdf\">the revised Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention policy<\/a> were handed down by three-judge judicial panels containing two Democrat-appointed judges, while both of its victories were delivered by Republican-appointed majorities. Although judicial ideology does not explain every outcome, the pattern shows how randomly assigned three-judge panels can make an unsettled legal question appear more one-sided than it may ultimately prove before the <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/supreme-court\/\">Supreme Court<\/a>.<\/p>\n<section class=\"explore-more-section\" id=\"wex-recommended-widget\">\n<div class=\"magazine-container single\">\n<h1 class=\"magazine-title mt-2\">Recommended Stories<\/h1>\n<p>             <i class=\"fa-solid fa-play icon\"><\/i>         <\/div>\n<div class=\"explore-grid\">\n<div class=\"explore-card\">                         <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/justice\/4673852\/trumps-lopsided-losing-record-ice-mandatory-detention-masks-closer-legal-fight\/?itm_source=parsely-api\">                             <\/p>\n<div class=\"explore-thumb-wrap\">                                                                                                                                  <\/div>\n<h3>Trump\u2019s lopsided losing record on ICE mandatory detention masks a closer legal fight<\/h3>\n<p>                         <\/a>                     <\/div>\n<div class=\"explore-card\">                         <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/policy\/immigration\/4673952\/decline-visas-issued-chinese-indian-students-under-trump\/?itm_source=parsely-api\">                             <\/p>\n<div class=\"explore-thumb-wrap\">                                                                                                                                  <\/div>\n<h3>Dramatic decline in visas issued to Chinese and Indian students under Trump<\/h3>\n<p>                         <\/a>                     <\/div>\n<div class=\"explore-card\">                         <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/policy\/immigration\/4673975\/new-york-ice-mask-ban-latest-blue-state-loss-court\/?itm_source=parsely-api\">                             <\/p>\n<div class=\"explore-thumb-wrap\">                                                                                                                                  <\/div>\n<h3>New York\u2019s ICE mask ban is the latest blue-state loss in court<\/h3>\n<p>                         <\/a>                     <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/section>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\">FILE \u2013 An ICE Special Response Team member stands guard outside the Metropolitan Detention Center, while protesters gather outside to denounce the ICE, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, operations, June 10, 2025, in downtown Los Angeles. (AP Photo\/Eric Thayer, File)<\/p>\n<p>&#8221; data-large-file=&#8221;https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/\/2026\/08\/localimages\/AP26191725872576.jpg?w=696&#8243; &#8220;https:><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">An ICE Special Response Team member stands guard outside the Metropolitan Detention Center, while protesters gather outside to denounce the ICE, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, operations, June 10, 2025, in downtown Los Angeles. (AP Photo\/Eric Thayer, File)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">More than 460 federal judges have rejected the Trump administration\u2019s interpretation in over 10,000 cases, compared with roughly 54 judges who have endorsed it in approximately 1,100 cases. But that volume does not represent 10,000 independent interpretations of the law. Many cases present the same question repeatedly, and district judges within a circuit often follow an emerging consensus until an appellate court supplies binding guidance.<\/p>\n<div class=\"wex-inarticle-ad wex-inarticle-ad-art-dsk-inart-1\">\n<div class=\"wex-ad-wrap wex-ad-art-dsk-inart-1\" style=\"min-height:90px\"><span class=\"wex-ad-label\" hidden>Advertisement<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-3182201-15\" data-wex-ad=\"art-dsk-inart-1\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-paywall\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">At issue throughout these cases is ICE\u2019s <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.ice.gov\/doclib\/detention-standards\/2025\/nds2025.pdf\">revised July 2025<\/a> interpretation of federal immigration law. The administration maintains that immigrants who entered without inspection remain \u201capplicants for admission\u201d who are \u201cseeking admission,\u201d even when arrested years later inside the country. Under that reading, federal law requires their detention without bond while removal proceedings continue.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">John Shu, a court watcher and constitutional law expert who served in both Bush administrations, cautioned against treating the volume of defeats against the administration as a measure of the strength of its legal position.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cIt\u2019s really not that relevant how many circuits are on one side and how many circuits are on another, or how many district courts are on one side,\u201d Shu told the <em>Washington Examiner<\/em>. \u201cThe Supreme Court can decide whatever they want.\u201d<\/p>\n<div class=\"wex-inarticle-ad wex-inarticle-ad-art-dsk-inart-2\">\n<div class=\"wex-ad-wrap wex-ad-art-dsk-inart-2\" style=\"min-height:90px\"><span class=\"wex-ad-label\" hidden>Advertisement<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-3182201-16\" data-wex-ad=\"art-dsk-inart-2\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The administration has now lost in the 2nd, 6th, 7th, 9th, 10th, and 11th circuits. The 5th and 8th circuits upheld their interpretation of federal law.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Two of those losses followed a nearly identical alignment. Clinton-appointed judges Eric Clay and Guy Cole formed the 6th Circuit majority, with Trump-appointed Judge Eric Murphy dissenting. In the 11th Circuit, Clinton-appointed Judge Stanley Marcus and Obama-appointed Judge Robin Rosenbaum prevailed over a dissent by Trump-appointed Judge Barbara Lagoa.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/media.ca7.uscourts.gov\/cgi-bin\/OpinionsWeb\/processWebInputExternal.pl?Submit=Display&#038;Path=Y2026\/D07-30\/C:25-3127:J:Kolar:aut:T:fnOp:N:3583247:S:0\">latest ruling on the policy<\/a> came from the 7th Circuit last week from Biden-appointed judges Joshua Kolar and Candace Jackson-Akiwumi. George W. Bush-appointed Judge Diane Sykes dissented.<\/p>\n<div class=\"wex-inarticle-ad wex-inarticle-ad-art-dsk-inart-3\">\n<div class=\"wex-ad-wrap wex-ad-art-dsk-inart-3\" style=\"min-height:90px\"><span class=\"wex-ad-label\" hidden>Advertisement<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-3182201-17\" data-wex-ad=\"art-dsk-inart-3\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<h2 id=\"h-liberal-leaning-panels-hand-down-defeats\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">Liberal-leaning panels hand down defeats<\/h2>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Federal appellate cases are generally decided by three judges selected from a circuit\u2019s broader membership. The ideological composition of one panel can differ substantially from that of the full court \u2014 and can determine which side initially establishes binding precedent.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The administration\u2019s two victories in the 5th and 8th Circuit courts illustrate the other side of that dynamic. Reagan-appointed Judge Edith Jones and Trump-appointed Judge Stuart Kyle Duncan formed the 5th Circuit majority, over a dissent by Biden-appointed Judge Dana Douglas. In the 8th Circuit, Bush-appointed Judge Bobby Shepherd and Trump-appointed Judge Steven Grasz formed the majority, while Trump-appointed Judge Ralph Erickson dissented.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The pattern of wins and losses is not entirely partisan, either. For example, President <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/donald-trump\/\">Donald Trump<\/a>\u2018s appointee Judge Daniel Bress <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/justice\/4669558\/ninth-circuit-deepens-split-trump-detention-policy\/\">wrote the 9th Circuit\u2019s decision<\/a> rejecting the administration\u2019s policy. Clinton-appointed Judge M. Margaret McKeown joined him, while Bush-appointed Judge Carlos Bea dissented.<\/p>\n<div class=\"wex-inarticle-ad wex-inarticle-ad-art-dsk-inart-4\">\n<div class=\"wex-ad-wrap wex-ad-art-dsk-inart-4\" style=\"min-height:90px\"><span class=\"wex-ad-label\" hidden>Advertisement<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-3182201-25\" data-wex-ad=\"art-dsk-inart-4\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cNot only did he vote against the administration, he also wrote the opinion,\u201d Shu said of Bress. \u201cI don\u2019t think it\u2019s quite accurate to say, \u2018Well, a Clinton appointee or a Trump appointee, or Reagan or Obama appointee,\u2019 because you never know what\u2019s going to happen.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The 2nd Circuit also ruled unanimously against the administration on a panel that included Trump-appointed Judge Joseph Bianco. A unanimous 10th Circuit panel included Reagan-appointed Judge David Ebel alongside Obama-appointed Judge Robert Bacharach and Biden-appointed Judge Richard Federico.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Hans von Spakovsky, a constitutional law expert and senior legal fellow at Advancing American Freedom, told the <em>Washington Examiner <\/em>that courts rejecting the administration have misread the government\u2019s detention powers.<\/p>\n<div class=\"wex-inarticle-ad wex-inarticle-ad-art-dsk-inart-5\">\n<div class=\"wex-ad-wrap wex-ad-art-dsk-inart-5\" style=\"min-height:90px\"><span class=\"wex-ad-label\" hidden>Advertisement<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-3182201-26\" data-wex-ad=\"art-dsk-inart-5\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI would point you to <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.law.cornell.edu\/uscode\/text\/8\/1226\">8 U.S.C. \u00a7 1226<\/a>, which specifically gives the government the power to detain aliens,\u201d von Spakovsky said. \u201cThere is no requirement that they be released. All of the courts ruling against detention are misreading federal immigration law and interfering with the authority of the federal government to detain aliens until they can be removed from the country.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">He predicted the justices would ultimately vindicate the administration\u2019s position. \u201cI believe there is a good chance that the Supreme Court will finally explain fully that there is no requirement that illegal aliens be released,\u201d von Spakovsky said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The 5th Circuit\u2019s position remains more complicated than a simple victory for the administration. A separate panel ruled July 2 that prolonged mandatory detention without an opportunity to challenge confinement violated due process. The full 5th Circuit vacated that ruling when it agreed to rehear the case, leaving intact its earlier statutory endorsement of the policy in favor of the Trump administration.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The growing circuit split has generated multiple requests for Supreme Court intervention. The justices will not count lower-court decisions as votes, however. Their focus will be on the statutory language, history, and constitutional implications underlying the competing interpretations of the mandatory detention policy at the lower court level.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/justice\/4669558\/ninth-circuit-deepens-split-trump-detention-policy\/\">NINTH CIRCUIT DEEPENS SPLIT AMONG APPEALS COURTS OVER TRUMP\u2019S MANDATORY DETENTION POLICY<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Sykes, the Bush-appointed judge who dissented from her colleagues on the 7th Circuit, acknowledged as much in her dissent last week.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cMy colleagues and I could debate until we\u2019re blue in the face,\u201d she wrote. \u201cAt this point, only the Supreme Court can bring uniformity and settle this question once and for all. I anticipate that it will do so soon.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Trump\u2019s detention policy faces mixed court rulings, not total defeat<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2633,"featured_media":2640374,"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\/07\/AP26194550566410-e1784645975281.jpg?w=696","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[33651],"tags":[5485,8364,83666,5894,3634],"class_list":["post-2640373","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-western-journal","tag-detention","tag-ice","tag-legal-fight","tag-politics","tag-trump"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/AP26194550566410-e1784645975281.jpg?w=696","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2640373","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\/2633"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2640373"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2640373\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2640376,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2640373\/revisions\/2640376"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2640374"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2640373"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2640373"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2640373"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}