Resource: Nielsen v. Preap

By: ACLU

March 19, 2019

ACLU

This case challenges the government’s sweeping interpretation of a 1996 mandatory detention law, which requires that certain people are detained for the duration of their deportation proceedings — without a hearing — because they have past criminal records. The government interprets the law to require detention without a hearing in cases where the person committed an offense and served a sentence years or even decades ago.

In 2016, the Ninth Circuit held that the government may only impose mandatory detention on immigrants whom it detains at the time of their release from criminal custody—and not months, years, or decades afterwards. Instead, if the government detains those immigrants, they must provide the a hearing to determine if their imprisonment is justified. The Trump administration sought review by the Supreme Court, and the case will be heard on October 10, 2018.

https://www.aclu.org/cases/nielsen-v-preap