When I first started practicing in the Western District of Texas (San Antonio, Austin, El Paso), the courts were overwhelmed by the war on drugs. The war on drugs cranked up in the 1980s and continued through the 1990s. But, the explosion of cases due to immigrants seeking bail is even bigger. In July, 2025, Immigration Customs Enforcement (ICE) issued a new memo that took away the power of immigration judges to set bail for immigrants waiting for their hearings. That one change has resulted in thousands of arrests by ICE. That means tens of thousands of immigrants are not turning to Federal courts and submitting writs of habeas corpus petitions seeking bail from Federal Judges.
For the San Antonio Division of the Western District, we have seen an increase from 201 such filings in the first quarter of 2025 to 2,959 writs in the first quarter of 2026. The San Antonio court typically sees 1,500 civil lawsuits each year. They reached 4,000 by May, 2026. Many of those 4,000 were writs of habeas corpus filed by immigrants.
San Antonio Division
Many of the immigrant detention facilities lie within the geographical boundaries of the San Antonio division. So, we have received the lion’s share of those filings. And, every time, they file such a writ, it is granted and the immigrant is allowed to post a bond. The issue might be different if there was some question whether an immigrant is entitled to bond. But, there is no question. In fact, many of those arrested have long-standing ties to their communities. They have families. They are simply much less likely to skip bail and avoid the judicial process.
In fact, ICE has lost on over 16,000 such submissions. Four-hundred, sixty-nine judges have ruled against the iCE regarding the new bond policy. Fifty-four judges have sided with ICE. Courts have routinely moved to 24 hour staffing. They know that an hour or two may mean the difference between a long-time immigrant getting shipped off to some obscure country or going back to his family.
The previous policy across multiple administrations was to refuse bail only for those immigrants who were brand new to tho this country. Yet, the great weight of judicial opinion is they are in indeed entitled to bail. This explosion of litigation also means that civil lawsuits, which always take a back seat to criminal and immigration related cases, will languish even longer than normal. See Politico news report here.
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