Oscar Lopez Garcia v. Robert Guadian
Split Score
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Case Summary
Disposition
Affirmed
The Fourth Circuit held that non-citizens who entered the United States without inspection but were later arrested inside the country are governed by 8 U.S.C. § 1226(a), which entitles them to an individualized bond hearing, rather than by § 1225(b)(2)(A), which mandates detention without bond. Accordingly, the court affirmed the district court’s habeas orders requiring bond hearings for petitioners Oscar Enrique Lopez Garcia and Juan Jose Rivera. The panel (Judge Berner joined by Senior Judge Keenan, Judge Rushing dissenting) aligned the Fourth Circuit with the majority of circuits rejecting the Government’s new construction of IIRIRA adopted in 2025.
Circuit Split Identified
Legal Issue
Whether noncitizens present in the United States without lawful admission are subject to mandatory detention under 8 U.S.C. § 1225(b)(2)(A) or to discretionary detention with bond eligibility under 8 U.S.C. § 1226(a).
Circuit Positions
§ 1226(a) applies; non-citizens arrested inside the U.S. are entitled to bond hearings.
§ 1225(b)(2)(A) applies; such non-citizens are subject to mandatory detention without bond.
Conflict Summary
Eight circuits (including the 4th in this opinion) hold that § 1226(a) governs interior arrests of inadmissible non-citizens, requiring bond hearings, while the 5th and 8th Circuits hold that the same individuals are "applicants for admission" covered by § 1225(b)(2)(A) and therefore must be mandatorily detained without bond. The split turns on whether the phrase "alien seeking admission" in § 1225 includes those already inside the country who were never lawfully admitted.