NEW YORK CITY — The 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New York City on Tuesday unanimously rejected the Trump administration's policy of subjecting many immigrants to mandatory detention by Immigration and Customs Enforcement, including those who have lived in the United States for years. The ruling applies to Connecticut, New York and Vermont, and sets the stage for a possible U.S. Supreme Court appeal.

The panel called the policy the "broadest mass-detention-without-bond mandate in our Nation's history for millions of noncitizens" and said it raised "serious constitutional questions." The opinion was written by U.S. Circuit Judge Joseph F. Bianco, an appointee of President Trump, and joined by Jose A. Cabranes and Alison J. Nathan.

"Today, although we part ways with two other circuits that have addressed this question, we join the overwhelming majority of federal judges across the Nation to consider it and conclude that the government's novel interpretation of the immigration statute defies their plain text," Bianco wrote. The 5th Circuit and 8th Circuit Courts of Appeals, based in Louisiana and Missouri respectively, have endorsed the administration's interpretation of mandatory detention.

Last year, the administration reinterpreted a 1990s immigration law to disqualify broad groups of immigrants living in the U.S. illegally from requesting bond hearings after arrest by ICE. The administration has taken the position that anyone who entered the country illegally, irrespective of how long ago, is subject to mandatory detention while their deportation cases are decided. Attorneys for the administration say the policy is legal under the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act passed in 1996.

Previously, undocumented immigrants who had lived in the U.S. for years were generally eligible for bond hearings and could seek release outside detention if not deemed flight risks or threats to public safety. Under previous administrations, mandatory detention was limited to those who had just entered the country. It had also applied to detainees convicted of certain crimes.

Under the new policy, DHS has been denying bond hearings to immigrants arrested across the country, including those who have been in the U.S. for years without any criminal history. ICE has indefinitely held detainees who entered the country illegally years or even decades ago and who previously would have been eligible for bond. Federal courts across the country are handling more than 30,000 lawsuits from immigrants locked up under the administration's mass deportation campaign seeking bond through habeas corpus petitions.

The Department of Homeland Security said the administration is enforcing the immigration detention law "as it was actually written to keep America safe." DHS also said, "ICE has the law and the facts on its side and will be vindicated by higher courts."