Matter of Yajure Hurtado
The Board considered whether an immigration judge could hold a bond hearing for a person present in the United States who had not been admitted after inspection. It concluded that he had to be detained for the duration of proceedings, reasoning that noncitizens who entered without inspection are "applicants for admission" under INA §235(b)(2)(A) and are therefore subject to mandatory detention under §235(b).
The practical effect: an immigration judge does not have authority to conduct a bond hearing for a person who entered without inspection. Matter of Jonathan Javier Yajure Hurtado, 29 I&N Dec. 216 (BIA 2025).
Matter of Q. Li
Ms. Li crossed the southern border without inspection and was apprehended roughly a hundred yards north of it. She was processed and released on parole under INA §212(d)(5)(A). About two years later the parole was revoked and she was detained; the immigration judge held that it lacked jurisdiction to consider bond, and the Board affirmed.
The holding reaches an applicant for admission arrested while arriving — even away from a formal port of entry, and even shortly after crossing. Such a person is subject to mandatory detention under §235(b) and is not eligible for a bond hearing under §236(a).
Who this reaches
If detention without bond is the starting point, the strategy changes. The value is then in moving the merits quickly, in identifying relief early, and in pursuing whatever custody review remains available.
- People who crossed at or between ports of entry — without inspection, and never became permanent residents.
- People apprehended during or shortly after crossing — including away from a port of entry.
- People placed directly into removal proceedings — and people whose parole is later revoked.
Questions we are asked about this
My husband has lived here for fifteen years. Does this apply to him?
It may, if he entered without inspection and has never been admitted or granted a status that changes his position. Length of residence does not by itself take a person out of the Board's reasoning, which is exactly why these decisions matter so much.
Is there anything that can be done if there is no bond hearing?
Yes — the case still has to be litigated, relief still has to be identified and filed, and there are avenues of review. What changes is that it happens from detention, which makes speed the priority.