Washington, Jan 14 (IANS) A US federal judge has ruled that immigration authorities violated due process by holding an Indian national without giving him a bond hearing. The court ordered the government to either hold such a hearing quickly or release him from custody.
US District Judge Jane M. Beckering of the Western District of Michigan said the continued detention of Varun Varun could not continue under the mandatory detention rules cited by the government.
Varun is an Indian citizen held by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
The judge conditionally granted his petition for a writ of habeas corpus. She ordered ICE to provide him a bond hearing within five business days under federal immigration law. If that does not happen, the government must release him.
Varun is detained at the North Lake Processing Center in Baldwin, Michigan.
He was taken into ICE custody on December 8, 2025, while working as a truck driver. Since then, he has remained in detention and has not been given a chance to seek bond or other conditional release.
Court records show Varun entered the United States on or about April 19, 2023. He crossed near San Luis, Arizona, without being admitted or paroled.
The Department of Homeland Security issued him a Notice to Appear the next day. He was charged with inadmissibility under the Immigration and Nationality Act.
He was released on his own recognizance at that time. He later lived in Fresno, California.
On September 14, 2024, Varun filed an application for asylum.
In his habeas petition, Varun challenged the legality of his detention. He argued that ICE wrongly treated his detention as mandatory. He also said this violated his rights under the Fifth Amendment.
The government argued that Varun was properly detained under a law that applies to arriving noncitizens. It also said he should first seek relief through immigration court and exhaust administrative remedies.
Judge Beckering rejected that argument.
She declined to require administrative exhaustion. She also ruled that the law cited by the government did not apply to Varun’s case.
The court said Varun falls under a different section of immigration law. That provision allows release on bond.
The judge found that holding him under a mandatory detention framework was unlawful.
She also ruled that continued detention without a bond hearing violated Varun’s Fifth Amendment due process rights. The court noted that it had reached similar conclusions in other recent cases.
Because relief was granted on these grounds, the court did not address other claims raised in the petition.
The order adds to a growing number of federal court rulings examining ICE’s use of mandatory detention, especially for noncitizens who were living in the United States before being taken back into custody.
–IANS
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