Federal court rules in favor of ACLU of Nevada in major class action immigration lawsuit

LAS VEGAS – A federal court on Monday ruled in favor of the ACLU of Nevada and against the Department of Homeland Security and Department of Justice in a class action lawsuit challenging the federal agencies’ policies requiring mandatory detention for all immigrants who entered the U.S. without inspection.

In a ruling that will impact hundreds of immigration detainees in Nevada, Judge Richard Boulware II determined that DHS’s mandatory detention policies violate federal law and vacated those policies under the Administrative Procedure Act. As a result of the ruling, people affected by the policies will now be able to seek bond hearings before an immigration judge. The decision is a major win for immigrants’ rights advocates and those impacted by the Trump Administration’s mass deportation agenda, including potentially thousands of future immigration detainees, the ACLU of Nevada says, would have likely found themselves denied bond hearings absent this litigation.

Background on the Case
For decades, people who were living in the U.S. and later detained by immigration agents were entitled to a bond hearing under federal law, but a change in DHS policies stripped people, including people who have no criminal record and have lived here for years, of the opportunity for release on bond. ACLU of Nevada, in conjunction with UNLV Immigration Clinic and the national ACLU, filed a class action lawsuit in October.

The case is Jacobo-Ramirez v. Noem, Case No. 2:25-cv-02136.

ACLU of Nevada executive director Athar Haseebullah said:
“Our legal win today against the Department of Homeland Security and Department of Justice is a critical one. As the administration continues to throw out fictitious labels simply to demonize undocumented people to divide America, we will continue to fight for civil liberties and a functional legal system that treats people with the dignity all human beings deserve. This decision may impact the lives of hundreds, if not thousands, of individuals in Nevada who will ultimately be impacted by the administration’s decision to summarily deny detainees bond hearings, which has effectively allowed the federal government to lock up longtime community members without giving them the opportunity to even appear before a judge and argue for their freedom. Two of our clients are now home with their families instead of languishing in an immigration detention center because of this case, and while our legal system remains far from perfect, this decision is an important one in checking federal abuses of power and building a firewall for freedom to prevent against civil liberties abuses by the government.”

ACLU of Nevada senior staff attorney Sadmira Ramic said:
“For nearly a year, DHS has wreaked havoc on communities in Nevada by detaining anyone who entered the United States without inspection, even after hundreds of judges across the country, including here in Nevada, found their policies unlawful. These are parents, workers, and neighbors who have built their lives amongst us and have not been deemed to pose a danger to others, but nonetheless found themselves behind bars with no opportunity to seek release. The government’s abrupt change has torn them away from their families, jobs, and community. This ruling sends a clear message that the government cannot morph immigration law to fit its view to carry out its mass deportation agenda, and we will do everything we can to ensure that DHS follows the judge’s order.”

UNLV Immigration Clinic director Michael Kagan said:
“Due process is a fundamental value of American law and American democracy. When the government suddenly reversed decades of established law by detaining people without a hearing, our student attorneys confronted a challenge to due process that many veteran attorneys had never seen. Our students responded immediately with grit and legal skill, first in individual cases and then partnered with the ACLU in a class action that stands to help hundreds in our state. Our students are leading the way. They may be only at the beginning of their careers, but their work is helping to protect a foundation of our system of law. We stand by due process, and we stand by our neighbors.”