The Supreme Court dismisses immigration case that had been slated for October arguments, after the Justice Department told the justices the dispute is now moot and the challenger agreed to take it off the calendar.
In Genalo v. Black, the court had planned to consider when, if ever, certain noncitizens are entitled to a bond hearing during prolonged detention, and what the government must prove to continue detaining them if a hearing is required. U.S. Solicitor General D. John Sauer informed the clerk that the Department of Justice intends to bring the issue back soon in a new petition for review.
Supreme Court dismisses immigration case
The petition originally involved two men detained under Section 1226(c) of the Immigration and Nationality Act, which requires detention of certain noncitizens, including lawful permanent residents with specified criminal convictions, during removal proceedings. Sauer emphasized that Section 1226(c) bars release except in narrow witness-protection circumstances and asked the justices to review a 2nd Circuit decision finding the men’s detention had lasted so long that due process under the Fifth Amendment entitled them to a bond hearing.
Sauer cited the 2018 decision in Jennings v. Rodriguez, where the court held Section 1226(c) does not itself mandate periodic bond hearings and left open whether due process could require such hearings during lengthy detentions. He urged the court to take up Genalo v. Black to resolve that question.
While the government’s petition was pending, one petitioner, Carol Williams Black, left the country and told the court he did not plan to return. The parties agreed his claim was moot. When the court granted review on June 15, it limited the case to the other petitioner, identified as Keisy G.M., who had been detained for 21 months after an assault conviction. The justices also asked for briefing on whether his claim remained a live controversy, as his attorneys had argued it was moot because he was released in 2022.
The mootness issue sharpened in late August when New York Gov. Kathy Hochul pardoned G.M. for the assault conviction. According to ACLU National Legal Director Cecillia Wang, the pardon meant G.M. was no longer deportable or subject to mandatory detention under Section 1226(c), and she urged the court to find the case moot.
In a letter Friday, Sauer agreed the pardon rendered G.M.’s habeas case moot. Sauer and Wang filed a joint stipulation to dismiss, and later that day the court formally dismissed the case, which had been scheduled for argument on Tuesday, Oct. 13.
The dismissal leaves only one argument currently set for that date and reduces the October sitting to six arguments. For Hawaiʻi residents watching federal immigration policy and detention practices, the underlying due process question remains unresolved for now, pending any new petition the Justice Department may file.
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