The Volokh Conspiracy

Mostly law professors | Sometimes contrarian | Often libertarian | Always independent

About The Volokh Conspiracy Editorial Independence Who we are Books Volokh Daily Email Archives Search DMCA RSS

Why Would Trump Make A Deal With A Judge Who Ruled Illegal Aliens Have A Right To "Locomotion" In The United States?

And does Todd Butler agree with Judge Southwick that denying a bond hearing to illegal aliens is an affront to freedom “at its most basic”?

Josh Blackman | 10.23.2026 4:42 PM

Today the en banc Fifth Circuit ruled that illegal aliens do not have a constitutional right to a bond hearing pending deportation. The vote was ostensibly 10-7, although the vote is better characterized as to 9-8. Judge Richman only concurred in judgment. As I've said many times before, the en banc Fifth Circuit is effectively split on a razors-edge.

Guess which judge wrote the lead dissent finding that illegal aliens have the right to roam freely "to whatsoever place" their "own inclination may direct; without imprisonment or restraint"? I'll give you a hint: it's the same judge that President Trump made a deal with to pick his own replacement.

Let's start with Judge Ho's concurrence:

A nation ceases to be a nation if it can't protect its borders. Congress has chosen to police our borders by detaining illegal aliens found in our country pending their removal........

© Reason.com