Ismael Perez v. Assistant Field Office Director, Krome North Service Processing Center

── Ismael Perez v. Assistant Field Office Director, Krome North Service Processing Center ── Court: Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit Date: May 06, 2026 Category: CON USCA11 Case: 25-14065 Document: 74-1 Date Filed: 05/06/2026 Page: 1 of 110 FOR PUBLICATION In the United States Court of Appeals For the Eleventh Circuit ____________________ No. 25-14065 ____________________ FIDENCIO HERNANDEZ ALVAREZ, Petitioner-Appellee, versus WARDEN, FEDERAL DETENTION CENTER MIAMI, MIAMI FIELD OFFICE DIRECTOR, IMMIGRATION AND CUSTOM'S ENFORCEMENT'S ENFORCEMENT AND REMOVAL OPERATIONS, ACTING DIRECTOR OF IMMIGRATION AND CUSTOMS ENFORCEMENT, SECRETARY OF THE DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY, ATTORNEY GENERAL OF THE UNITED STATES, et al., Respondents-Appellants. USCA11 Case: 25-14065 Document: 74-1 Date Filed: 05/06/2026 Page: 2 of 110 2 Opinion of the Court 25-14065 ____________________ Appeal from the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida D.C. Docket No. 1:25-cv-24806-KMW ____________________ ____________________ No. 25-14075 ____________________ ISMAEL CERRO PEREZ, Petitioner-Appellee, versus ASSISTANT FIELD OFFICE DIRECTOR, KROME NORTH SERVICE PROCESSING CENTER, MIAMI FIELD OFFICE DIRECTOR, IMMIGRATION AND CUSTOM'S ENFORCEMENT'S ENFORCEMENT AND REMOVAL OPERATIONS, ACTING DIRECTOR OF IMMIGRATION AND CUSTOMS ENFORCEMENT, SECRETARY OF THE DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY, U.S. ATTORNEY GENERAL, et al., Respondents-Appellants. USCA11 Case: 25-14065 Document: 74-1 Date Filed: 05/06/2026 Page: 3 of 110 25-14065 Opinion of the Court 3 ____________________ Appeal from the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida D.C. Docket No. 1:25-cv-24820-KMW ____________________ Before ROSENBAUM, LAGOA, and MARCUS, Circuit Judges. MARCUS, Circuit Judge: The question we face today is whether unadmitted aliens found in the interior of the United States are eligible for bond while they go through immigration proceedings. For nearly thirty years, the answer to that question was, for most aliens, “yes.” Last year, the Department of Homeland Security (“DHS”) took a different view. It now maintains that these aliens must be detained without bond under 8 U.S.C. § 1225(b)(2)(A). We are called on to decide if the Government’s new reading of § 1225(b)(2)(A) is correct. Hundreds of district courts and four other circuits have already weighed in, reaching well-reasoned yet distinctly contrary conclusions. See Cunha v. Freden, No. 25-3141, 2026 WL 1146044 (2d Cir. Apr. 28, 2026); Avila v. Bondi, 170 F.4th 1128 (8th Cir. 2026); Buenrostro-Mendez v. Bondi, 166 F.4th 494 (5th Cir. 2026); Castañon-Nava v. U.S. Dep’t of Homeland Sec., 161 F.4th 1048 (7th Cir. 2025); see also Castañon-Nava v. U.S. Dep’t of Homeland Sec., No. 25-3050, 2026 WL 1223250 (7th Cir. May 5, 2026). This is the first time our Court has addressed the question. In these consolidated appeals, Petitione