Supreme Court Strikes Down Indefinite Detention

Today, the Supreme Court held that the U.S. INS cannot indefinitely detain individuals who have been ordered deported but cannot be removed in the foreseeable future. In Zadvydas v. Davis, the court found that § 241(a)(6) of the Immigration and Nationality Act, 'read in the light of the Constitution's demands, limits an alien's post-removal-period detention to a period necessary to bring about that alien's removal from the United States.' The court reasoned that to construe the statute to allow indefinite detention would cause serious constitutional problem. It also affirmed the power of federal courts to review whether the detention of any such individual has exceeded a reasonable time frame.

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