Morozov v. Field Office Director, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, et al., Case No. 26-2113 (8th Cir.)
Summary
A man who fled Russia and asked for asylum at a U.S. port of entry was allowed into the country, released while his case moved forward, and given permission to work. More than two years later, after a traffic stop, immigration officers arrested him and held him for months without any hearing where a judge could weigh whether locking him up was necessary. A federal district court in South Dakota ordered him released, holding that detention with no individualized review violated the Fifth Amendment.
The government appealed. Its position is that people who were never formally admitted to the United States must be detained throughout their removal proceedings, and that whether a person is a flight risk or a danger to anyone is beside the point. A ruling for the government would mean that across the seven states of the Eighth Circuit, anyone the government labels an "applicant for admission" — including people with years of residence, work authorization, and no criminal record — could be jailed for the length of their immigration case with no opportunity to ask a judge whether that detention is justified at all.