Attorney General Bonta Leads Coalition Opposing Illegal “No Bond” Immigration Detention Policy

OAKLAND — California Attorney General Rob Bonta today, co-leading a multistate coalition along with New York Attorney General Letitia James, filed an amicus brief opposing a federal policy that mandates the indefinite detention of many undocumented immigrants without the opportunity for a bond hearing. In a brief filed in Rodriguez Vazquez v. Bostock, the coalition challenges the unprecedented reinterpretation of immigration law by immigration authorities, arguing that the new policy contravenes Congress’s intent and the right to due process and federal statutes, and inflicts widespread harm on families, communities, and states.

“The Trump Administration has carried out its inhumane immigration agenda by abducting, incarcerating, and deporting members of our communities without regard for the rule of law,” said Attorney General Bonta. “Its latest policy seeks to indefinitely detain immigrants in violation of their Constitutional right to due process. It’s inhumane and illegal, and I will continue to fight it in every way I can.”

For decades, immigrants living in the U.S. who were placed in removal proceedings had the right to request a bond hearing — a chance to argue for, and be afforded an individualized determination of the propriety of, their release while their immigration case was pending. The Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) nationwide adoption of this policy eliminates that right for those who are alleged to have entered the country without inspection, mandating their indefinite detention, even where they may have strong claims for relief. Many of these people have lived in the United States for years and now face confinement in overcrowded, unsafe, and unsanitary facilities with no clear end in sight. As DHS expands its enforcement efforts, millions of additional immigrants could be subjected to mandatory detention under this policy.

This policy also hurts U.S. citizens, over 9 million of whom, including 4 million children, live with an undocumented family member. The detention of these family members can increase the risk of depression, anxiety, and economic instability. Fear of detention already deters immigrant families from seeking healthcare, food assistance, and even reporting crimes. The attorneys general argue that the excessive and unlawful mandatory detention policy only worsens this effect.

This policy doesn’t just harm families, it also costs taxpayers. Attorney General Bonta and the coalition argue that unnecessarily detaining undocumented workers disrupts the labor force and undermines local and state economies. Undocumented immigrants constitute nearly 5% of the U.S. workforce. In 2023, undocumented-led households paid nearly $90 billion in taxes and contributed almost $300 billion in consumer spending. The attorneys general also argue this policy will come at a substantial cost to taxpayers. In 2024, immigration detention cost U.S. taxpayers $3.4 billion – roughly $152 per detainee per day. By contrast, DHS’s own Alternatives to Detention program costs less than $4.20 per day and is equally effective in ensuring court appearances.

The attorneys general urge the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit to grant partial summary judgment for the plaintiffs and strike down DHS’s unlawful policy.

Rodriguez Vazquez v. Bostock challenges the same “no bond” policy at issue in Bautista v. Noem. Attorneys General Bonta and James led a multistate coalition in filing a similar amicus brief in support of the plaintiffs in that case last year. 

Attorneys General Bonta and James lead the attorneys general of Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawai`i, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Washington in filing the brief.