A federal judge in California delivered a major blow to the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown on November 25, 2025, ruling that ICE cannot lock up long-term undocumented immigrants indefinitely without a bond hearing.
U.S. District Judge Sunshine Suzanne Sykes struck down a July 8, 2025, DHS policy that re-classified millions of undocumented residents — even those living legally in the U.S. for decades with no criminal record — as “applicants for admission.”
That label allowed ICE to hold them without ever taking them before an immigration judge.
Sykes certified a nationwide class-action lawsuit, declaring the policy illegal and ordering immediate bond hearings for everyone currently detained under it.
The ruling could affect up to 65,000 people in ICE custody and force the release of thousands while their cases are reviewed.
The Department of Justice filed an emergency appeal the same day, asking the Ninth Circuit to freeze the order. As of December 2, the appeal is pending and no stay has been granted, meaning ICE must begin scheduling bond hearings unless a higher court intervenes.
Immigrant-rights groups called the decision a critical check on executive power. DHS officials warned it will create new backlogs in an already overwhelmed immigration court system that has fewer than 700 judges for more than 3 million pending cases.
The case is Padilla v. ICE, and the ruling marks the first successful nationwide challenge to one of the administration’s core deportation tools.
