Justices rule against detained immigrants seeking release

By MARK SHERMAN
Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court has ruled against immigrants who are seeking their release from long periods of detention while they fight deportation orders. In two cases decided Monday, the court said that the immigrants, who fear persecution if sent back to their native countries, have no right under a federal law to a bond hearing at which they could argue for their freedom no matter how long they are held. The justices also ruled 6-3 to limit the immigrants ability to band together in court, an outcome that Justice Sonia Sotomayor wrote “will leave many vulnerable noncitizens unable to protect their rights.” In recent years, the high court has taken an increasingly limited view of immigrants’ access to the federal court system.