Trump Scores ‘Enormous’ Legal Win On Immigration

President Donald Trump scored a major legal win on immigration at the U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals on Friday night.

A federal judge agreed with the Trump administration that illegal aliens can be detained without bond while their immigration cases are being processed.

“Tonight our [Justice Department] attorneys secured yet another crucial legal victory in support of [President] Trump’s immigration agenda,” U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi posted to X Friday night.

“The Fifth Circuit just held illegal aliens can rightfully be detained without bond – a significant blow against activist judges who have been undermining our efforts to make America safe again at every turn,” Bondi said.

“We will continue vindicating President Trump’s law and order agenda in courtrooms across the country,” the AG added.

Tonight our @TheJusticeDept attorneys secured yet another crucial legal victory in support of @POTUS Trump’s immigration agenda.

The Fifth Circuit just held illegal aliens can rightfully be detained without bond – a significant blow against activist judges who have been…

— Attorney General Pamela Bondi (@AGPamBondi) February 7, 2026

Eric Wessan, Iowa’s Solicitor General, called the win “enormous” for the Trump administration, noting that the Fifth Circuit was the first federal court to address Trump’s expedited removal efforts.

“ENORMOUS Immigration win for President Trump,” he posted to X. “The Fifth Circuit, the first federal court to address President Trump’s expedited removal efforts, sides with the administration.”

“Illegal aliens may be detained and removed!” he emphasized.

Ilya Shapiro, a senior fellow and director of constitutional studies at the Manhattan Institute, said the same in an X post. “Another big deal and seems obviously right – you can detain and hold illegal aliens rather than automatically releasing them on (insignificant) bond,” he said.

🚨🚨ENORMOUS Immigration win for President Trump. The Fifth Circuit, the first federal court to address President Trump’s expedited removal efforts, sides with the administration. Illegal aliens may be detained and removed! Judge Jones, joined by Duncan. Judge Douglas dissents. pic.twitter.com/4K89hrb59T

— Eric W. (@EWess92) February 7, 2026

The ruling comes in contrast with activist judges releasing illegals while their cases are being processed through a bond option. The administration says this undermines general immigration enforcement and limits its ability to detain and remove illegals who are a public safety or national security concern — a key promise of Trump’s 2024 presidential run.

Deportation of illegal aliens has been a central piece of President Trump’s second term agenda. According to a December 2025 press release from the Department of Homeland Security, the Trump administration was responsible for 2.5 million illegal aliens exiting the United States since Inauguration Day, with 605,000 having been deported and 1.9 million leaving of their own volition.

According to the Office of Homeland Security Statistics (OHSS), there were an estimated 11 million illegal aliens residing in the United States as of January 2022. Pew Research estimates that an “all-time high of 14 million” illegal aliens were living in the United States by 2023 “after two consecutive years of record growth” in which 3.5 million aliens entered the country under Joe Biden.

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