9th Circuit: Detained Illegals Entitled to Bond Hearing

A divided Ninth Circuit panel has ruled that illegals seeking asylum who are held by ICE for more than six months are entitled to a hearing for possible release on bond.  Bob Egelko of the San Francisco Chronicle reports that the ruling could apply to thousands of migrants (read illegal aliens) held pending review of their asylum claims.  Dissenting judge Ferdinand Fernandez held that the ruling conflicted with a 2018 U.S. Supreme Court decision which announced that illegal aliens could be detained until their cases were decided.  But Judge Milan Smith, a W. Bush appointee, and Judge Eric Miller, appointed by Trump, found no conflict, citing an earlier 9th Circuit ruling announcing that asylum seekers are entitled to a bond hearing unless they are determined to be dangerous or likely to flee.  A San Francisco attorney representing the plaintiffs called the ruling “a tremendous victory for immigrants…”  He must have meant a tremendous victory for illegal immigrants.  Those who migrated here legally gain nothing from this ruling.