Immigrant detainees must now be given bond hearings every six months, a federal appeals court has ruled.
The U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals ruling stemmed from a class-action lawsuit filed by Ahilan Thevanesan Arulanantham, the deputy legal director of the ACLU of Southern California.
Some immigrants linger in detention centers for years, but that won’t happen any longer, said Annie Lai, a University of California at Irvine law professor.
Previously civil immigration detainees were only given one bond hearing after serving six months in detention.
“Detainees are treated much like criminals,” said Judge Kim M. Wardlaw.
Half of the immigrants detained in Southern California spend a year in detention, and 10 percent are still locked up after two years, the court reported.
In a similar case filed in New York, the 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals agreed with the 9th Circuit and ordered that detainees be given bond hearings after six months.
