Supreme Court Says Some Illegal Immigrants Are Not Entitled to Bond Hearings for Release Into U.S.

By Mary Webber First Posted: Jun 30, 2021 12:19 AM EDT

The Supreme Court has ruled against previously deported illegal immigrants, saying they are not entitled to bond hearings about whether they should be released while the government evaluates their claims.

Justice Samuel Alito wrote for the majority in a 6-3 decision that the federal statute governing cases concerning previously deported illegal immigrants are not eligible for a bond hearing before a federal immigration judge despite having fears of persecution in their home countries, Breitbart News reported.

The June 29 decision stemmed from a case involving two previously deported illegal immigrants who had their deportation orders reinstated after illegally entering the U.S. once again by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).

The high court ruled a federal statute requiring detention for non-residents who have already received an administratively final removal order applied, despite seeking withholding hearings of illegal immigrants to keep them from being sent back to their home countries.

The illegal immigrants noted that since they seek withholding hearings, the law governing final orders will not apply to their situation.

But the Supreme Court noted that because they were now facing removal based on the reinstatement of the previous final order, they will not be given a hearing to argue for release.

Justice Samuel Alito wrote in the court's opinion that the finality of the order of removal does not depend in any way on the outcome of the withholding-only proceedings, Fox News reported.

Alito noted that if an immigration judge grants an application for withholding of removal, he prohibits the DHS from removing the immigrant to that particular country, not from the U.S.

The court's opinion also emphasized that the process for seeking a withholding hearing is different in cases of unlawful reentry. Alito cited that Congress had apparent reasons to treat the said individuals more sternly than other asylum applicants.

Alito was joined by other court conservatives, namely Chief Justice John Roberts and Justices Clarence Thomas. Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh, and Amy Coney Barrett were also included, The Wall Street Journal reported.

Breyer said a bond hearing does not mean an immigrant will run away. It is normally granted only if the immigration judge guarantees that the immigrant will not abscond and will likely appear for future proceedings.

Illegal Immigrants And Border Crisis

President Joe Biden had promised to increase the number of refugees admitted to the country.

The new proposed admission caps would be 62,500 for the current fiscal year, which will be increased to 125,000 for the year 2022. Customs and Border Protection officials are seeing more migrants trying to enter the U.S.

Meanwhile, the House Appropriations Committee is looking to decrease the agency's net discretionary funding by around a billion dollars, another Fox News report said.

The committee's newly released draft of their Homeland Security funding bill would provide $14.11 billion in net discretionary. It was down $927 million from the fiscal year 2021.

Governors of 20 states sent a letter to Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris last month, requesting them to take urgent action to end the border crisis.

The governors claimed that the Biden administration encouraged undocumented immigrants to the border and incentivized illegal crossings with rhetoric and reversing the Trump administration's border policy, The Hill reported.

Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey and Texas Gov. Greg Abbott seemed to have given up on persuading Biden to secure the border. Thus, they are trying to act on the situation without the president's help. They have issued disaster declarations to activate their right to request assistance from the rest of the states.

WATCH: Supreme Court Rules on Case of Immigrants With Temporary Protected Status - From CBS News