On Tuesday, the US Supreme Court issued a ruling requiring that immigrants and asylum seekers to be held by immigration officials indefinitely without appearing in bond hearings. The government, thus, can keep them in prison for an unlimited amount of time, said Tuesday the Hill. The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) said the decision «will impact the lives of thousands of people, including lawful permanent residents, asylum seekers, and survivors of torture». Indeed, «the government's practice of locking up immigrants indefinitely, without even a hearing to determine if they pose a risk of flight or danger to the community, as they defend their right to remain in the U.S. is horrific», the union said on Twitter. Justice Stephen G. Breyer, who denounces the court's ruling, told NPR that detentions are «often long», as a migrant can remain in prison for almost four years serving a first sentence. «Many of them will never be able to pursue their claims», said Breyer. Ahilan Arulanantham, an ACLU lawyer, said on the NGO's website that «the Trump administration is trying to expand immigration detention to record-breaking levels as part of its crackdown on immigrant communities». For him, «when immigrants get a fair hearing, judges often release them based on their individual circumstances». Arulanantham said they «look forward to going back to the lower courts to show that these statutes, now interpreted by the Supreme Court to require detention without any hearing, violate the Due Process Clause». The ACLU states that «the federal appeals court to consider whether the statutes violate the Constitution».
