SCOTUS reinforces Gov't's right to detain illegals.

[Belsnickel]

(03-21-2019, 11:50 AM)michaelsean Wrote: I'm a little confused about this though. It seems they are talking about merely having a bail hearing. I don't care if someone gets a bail hearing, but on the other hand, the ACLU seems OK with you not getting a bail hearing as long as you are taken into custody within 24 hours of being released. Why would that be OK to them? I must be missing something really important here.

So I have read the decision(s), for the most part. The argument is that the law itself (8 USC § 1226) was written in such a way as to say that aliens would be eligible to be detained "when...released." So the plaintiffs in the case are arguing that because of that specific wording, their detention is not covered by the statute which allows for detention without bond because it did not happen when they were released. So the argument occurring is not based on the constitutionality of whether or not detention without bond under the statute is constitutional or not, but whether the law as written applies to the plaintiffs. They are arguing for a narrow interpretation of "when" and the court rules in a broader sense.

Unfortunately, as Alito pointed out at the end of his decision, the plaintiffs did not raise an argument against the constitutionality but only the statutory interpretation. As such, it was not within the jurisdiction of the SCOTUS to look at the constitutionality. Had this been a question of constitutionality from the start (SCOTUS can only decide on the arguments presented in lower courts) then they may have won.