A federal judge in California has delivered a landmark ruling that compels the Trump administration to provide bond hearings to thousands of migrants held in detention facilities across the United States.
A Nationwide Class Action Victory
US District Judge Sunshine Sykes, based in Riverside, California, certified a nationwide class of individuals who were already living in the United States when they were detained by immigration authorities. She ruled that these individuals are legally entitled to a hearing to determine if they can be released on bond while their deportation cases are processed.
The decision strikes down a policy implemented by the Trump administration in July 2025 that denied bond hearings to migrants detained during domestic enforcement operations. Judge Sykes declared this policy illegal, aligning with dozens of other federal judges who have ruled against it in individual cases. However, her ruling on Tuesday significantly extends this protection nationwide.
The Legal Battle Over 'Applicants for Admission'
The core of the legal dispute revolves around the interpretation of federal immigration law. The Trump administration had argued that non-citizens already residing in the US, not just those arriving at the border, could be classified as "applicants for admission." This classification subjects them to mandatory detention without the possibility of a bond hearing.
Judge Sykes, an appointee of President Joe Biden, firmly disagreed with this interpretation in her ruling last week. She stated that the law makes a clear distinction between existing US residents and new arrivals. Depriving these residents of a bond hearing, she wrote, constitutes a common injury that violates their due process rights, an issue that "can be resolved in a single stroke."
The administration had contended that individual circumstances required case-by-case review, but the judge found that the denial of a bond hearing itself was the unifying and wrongful act.
Implications for Thousands in Detention
This ruling has immediate and profound consequences. As of last week, approximately 65,000 people were in immigration detention in the US, according to government data. A significant number of these individuals may now have a pathway to seek release as they await the outcomes of their immigration court proceedings.
The lawsuit was originally filed by four migrants, but Judge Sykes's certification of a nationwide class means the ruling applies to all individuals in similar circumstances. The US Department of Justice and the lawyers for the migrants have not yet provided public comments on the decision.
This ruling represents a major setback for the Trump administration's immigration enforcement strategy and a substantial victory for advocates fighting for the rights of those within the US immigration detention system.
