Reversing the Fourth Circuit, the Court held that the detention of a person whose earlier removal order has been reinstated after unlawful reentry is governed by 8 U.S.C. § 1231, not § 1226, so such people are not entitled to a bond hearing before an immigration judge while their withholding-only proceedings are pending. On the effect of a withholding grant, the Court said the removal order “remains in full force, and DHS retains the authority to remove the alien to any other country authorized by the statute,” a list the Court sets out that ends with “any country willing to accept the alien.” And: “In short, withholding-only relief is country-specific. It relates to where an alien may be removed. It says nothing, however, about the antecedent question whether an alien is to be removed from the United States.” 594 U.S. 536. Justice Breyer, dissenting for three, would have held that § 1226 governs and that a bond hearing is required.
Caution Contrary authority, included because it cuts against the argument rather than for it, and anyone relying on the cases in this collection should read it first. The question presented was which of two detention statutes applies during withholding-only proceedings. Revocation of an order of supervision, notice of a third-country designation, and the reliability of diplomatic assurances were not before the Court and are not addressed in the opinion.
Detention authority Reinstated removal orders Withholding-only proceedings Bond hearing Section 1226 and section 1231 Country-specific nature of withholding Contrary authority
The court's own text
Read in full from the official preliminary print of the United States Reports, volume 594, part 2, pages 523–558, published by the Supreme Court of the United States. Page pins are to that pagination. The opinion is a work of the United States government.
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