The full U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit ruled 10-7 on Friday that immigrants detained after entering the country without authorization have no constitutional right to a bond hearing before an immigration judge while their removal case plays out. The decision clears the way for the Trump administration to keep migrants locked up for months or years at a time without a judge ever reviewing whether they should be released.

The en banc ruling, written by Judge Cory Wilson, reverses an earlier three-judge panel decision that had allowed detained immigrants to challenge their continued confinement before an immigration judge. It applies across the Fifth Circuit's jurisdiction — Texas, Louisiana and Mississippi — a region that already holds a disproportionate share of the country's immigration detention beds, according to El Paso Matters' reporting on the decision.

A split court, a sharp dissent

The 10-7 vote split largely along the lines of which president appointed each judge, with the majority concluding that migrants who were "never admitted" to the United States fall outside the due-process protections that apply to people already inside the country. Seven judges dissented, warning that the ruling strips a core judicial check from a detention system that can hold people for years while their cases wind through backlogged immigration courts.

"THE COURT'S RULING IS AN ATTACK ON CONSTITUTIONAL DUE PROCESS RIGHTS"

Rebecca Cassler, senior litigation attorney at the American Immigration Council, who argued the case before the Fifth Circuit, said the ruling eliminates one of the only tools detained immigrants had to get a neutral check on prolonged confinement. The Council called the decision an "affront" to the Constitution and said it is reviewing further appeal options, which could ultimately put the question before the Supreme Court.

The ruling lands amid a broader expansion of the administration's immigration enforcement powers heading into the November 3 midterms. In September, the Supreme Court let the administration continue deporting migrants to third countries where they have no ties while the justices consider the policy's legality, with oral argument set for December, according to NBC News. Taken together, immigration lawyers say the two rulings sharply narrow the paths detained migrants have to contest their treatment before removal.

What's next

Immigration attorneys in Texas, Louisiana and Mississippi said they expect an immediate jump in the number of long-term detainees with no path to a bond hearing, and several advocacy groups are already identifying test cases for a possible Supreme Court appeal. The Department of Homeland Security has not detailed how many additional detainees the ruling affects, but advocates estimate the number in the tens of thousands nationally once similar arguments are tested in other circuits.

For now, the ruling stands as the most consequential immigration-detention decision from a federal appeals court this year, and it hands the administration a significant legal win just twelve days before voters go to the polls in a midterm election where immigration enforcement has been a central flashpoint.