Washington: A federal court has ordered immigration authorities to hold a bond hearing for an Indian national detained in Michigan, ruling that his continued custody without such a hearing violates immigration law and the US Constitution.
US District Judge Jane M. Beckering of the Western District of Michigan, in an order issued on January 7, conditionally granted a petition for a writ of habeas corpus filed by Sumit Tulsibhai Patel, held by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) at the North Lake Processing Center in Baldwin, Michigan.
In his petition, Patel challenged the legality of his detention and sought emergency relief. He asked the court to declare that his continued custody violated the Fifth Amendment’s Due Process Clause and the Immigration and Nationality Act, and to order a bond hearing in his removal case.
Court records show that Patel entered the United States in 2021 without inspection. In October 2021, Department of Homeland Security agents encountered him and charged him with inadmissibility under immigration law.
Patel was initially held by ICE but was released in November 2021 on a $40,000 bond. He later lived in Chicago, Illinois.
In October 2025, Patel was taken into custody again. He said he was “walking outside” when he was “apprehended by ICE randomly.”
In its decision, the court rejected the government’s argument that Patel was subject to mandatory detention. Judge Beckering ruled that a different section of immigration law applied to his case. That provision allows for release on bond and requires an individualized hearing.
The court also declined to deny relief on the ground that Patel had not exhausted administrative remedies. The government argued that he should first seek a bond hearing through the immigration court system. The judge said exhaustion was not required and, even if it were, waiver was appropriate.
On the constitutional issue, the court found that Patel’s detention without a bond hearing violated due process. The judge said that notice of charges, access to counsel, and scheduled immigration hearings were not enough to justify continued custody without a bond determination.
The court did not address Patel’s other claims, saying relief was warranted on these grounds alone. Habeas corpus allows people in custody to challenge the legality of their detention. US courts have repeatedly held that the remedy is available to non-citizens held in immigration detention when constitutional or legal violations are alleged.
(IANS)
