The Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals rejected the Trump administration's immigration detention policy in a two-to-one decision.
Posted by The Lawfare Podcast, Checked
- Sources
- 5 support
- Said
- 1 time·
- Confidence
- 93%
The Lawfare PodcastSep 14, 2026
Multiple reliable sources, including AP and Reuters, report that the Fourth Circuit rejected the Trump administration's mandatory immigration detention policy in a 2-1 decision on September 10, 2026. The claim matches the passage's wording and the sources' core facts.
What was said
… Um, Roger, the mandatory immigration detention developments continue to pile up. Um, uh, the Fourth Circuit has weighed in, and the Supreme Court is clearly about to grant cert. What's uh what's going on? Yeah, the Fourth Circuit ruled; it rejected the Trump policy on political lines, two to one, and that is the i think that's all of them that we're going to get. The Dc. Circuit, I don't think, has a detention facility, so we've got 11 circuit now, 9 to 2, and we've got 33 circuit judges, 22 to 11 against. …
The Lawfare Podcast · · from the transcriptPost →What we found
Supports. AP reports that a divided Fourth Circuit ruled the administration's policy of holding immigrants without a chance for release on bond is illegal, making it the ninth appeals court to reject the policy.[1]
Supports. Reuters reports that a 2-1 panel of the Fourth Circuit rejected the administration's effort to re-detain Badar Khan Suri, ruling that federal immigration law did not bar the lower-court judge's release order.[2]
Supports. Newsweek, El País, and Bloomberg Law each describe the Fourth Circuit's 2-1 decision rejecting the mandatory detention policy, with Judge Rushing, a Trump appointee, dissenting.[3][4][5]
Context. Sources describe a circuit split, with the Fifth and Eighth Circuits endorsing the government's interpretation, which makes the Supreme Court review more likely; this does not affect the claim.[1][5]
Sources
5 sources: 2 fact-checkers, 3 not rated
- 1Appeals court rules Trump's mandatory detention policy illegalapnews.com · fact-checker · cited for: supports, context
- 2Court rejects Trump administration's bid to re-detain pro-Palestinian Georgetown scholarreuters.com · fact-checker · cited for: supports
- 3Federal judges rebuke ICE detention as similar to WWII internment campsnewsweek.com · not rated · cited for: supports
- 4Another US court rejects detention of some migrants without the right to a bail hearingenglish.elpais.com · not rated · cited for: supports
- 5Fourth Circuit Rejects Trump’s Mandatory Detention Policy (1)news.bloomberglaw.com · not rated · cited for: supports, context
Where this claim was made
Said in 1 published post
Related claims
- The DC Circuit ruled two-to-one against the government's request for a stay in the SAVE system case.True
- The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals has allowed Texas's SB4 immigration law to remain in effect.True
- The Supreme Court has scheduled three certiorari petitions regarding the Trump administration's immigration detention policy for conference on September 28th.True