Buenrostro-Mendez v. Bondi

Local governments in Fifth Circuit urge court to consider high cost and local effects of mandatory detention of immigrants

Three communities in Texas — Harris County, El Paso County, and Austin — joined Public Rights Project and other local government leaders in filing an amicus brief in a case about changes to an immigration detention policy. 

A two-judge panel recently ruled that noncitizens without a criminal record can be held indefinitely without bond — even if they have been living in the country for decades. The decision reverses 30 years of precedent by eliminating bond hearings for people who entered the U.S. without an inspection at a port of entry or border crossing. If it stands, this would lead to the largest expansion of mandatory detention in U.S. history. We’re supporting the plaintiffs’ request for the Fifth Circuit to rehear the case before the full panel of judges.

Our brief highlights the economic and other major impacts on communities across the Fifth Circuit, which includes Mississippi and Louisiana in addition to Texas. We argue that mandatory detention would cause:

• Damage to local economies: Undocumented workers make up a large share of the construction, agricultural, manufacturing, and restaurant industries across communities in the Fifth Circuit. Without these workforces, costs will go up and economic growth will slow.
• Harm to the broader community: Increased detention could force some employers to shut down entirely, triggering more than 2.5 million job losses for American workers. It will also drain more than $50 billion in undocumented immigrant spending that Fifth Circuit local governments rely on to fund critical local services and social safety net programs.
• Erosion of trust in local law enforcement: Mandatory detention deters immigrant residents from reporting crimes and prevents victims from coming forward, deteriorating relationships with local police and leaving communities less secure.

• Undermined public health and safety: Increased enforcement causes immigrants to avoid health care services out of fear, raising the risk for communicable diseases and increasing public health costs.

Read the amicus brief.