The Trump administration filed two petitions for review with the U.S. Supreme Court on Monday, Sept. 21, 2026, seeking to return specific immigration enforcement questions to the court’s docket. One petition, *Genalo v. D.C.*, asks the justices to decide when noncitizens detained under Section 1226(c) of the Immigration and Nationality Act have a Fifth Amendment due process right to a bond hearing. A second petition, *Trump v. Suri*, challenges the authority of district courts to review detention claims that also involve the underlying grounds for a noncitizen's removal.
The filings follow the Sept. 11 dismissal of a similar case, *Genalo v. Black*, which the administration and challengers agreed was moot. In that case, one individual had voluntarily left the U.S., and the other, Keisy G.M., was pardoned by New York Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) in August, making him no longer deportable under the statute. U.S. Solicitor General D. John Sauer requested that the Supreme Court grant certiorari before judgment in the new *D.C.* case, a move that allows a case to bypass the federal appeals court to replace a dismissed one.
Section 1226(c) requires the detention of noncitizens, including green card holders, who have committed certain crimes while they await removal proceedings. The new case involves a man identified as D.C., a Dominican Republic native detained in Sept. 2025 following a prison stay for multiple convictions. A federal district court previously ruled that D.C.’s detention entitled him to a bond hearing, which resulted in his release from Department of Homeland Security (DHS) custody on March 31.
The second petition, *Trump v. Suri*, involves Georgetown University scholar Badar Khan Suri. The administration is challenging his claim that his detention and removal proceedings violated his free speech and due process rights. The government argues that district courts lack the authority to hear such claims when they intersect with the validity of the removal order itself.
A ruling in favor of the administration would affirm the government's ability to maintain detention without bond for the duration of removal proceedings. Conversely, a ruling favoring the detainees would establish a legal right to a bond hearing after a period that in the dismissed *Black* case ranged from seven to 21 months. A person in D.C.'s position would be able to request release from a judge while their immigration case is pending, rather than remaining in a DHS facility for the duration of the legal process.
The *Suri* case could set a precedent regarding the jurisdiction of lower courts. If the Supreme Court sides with the administration, it would limit the ability of noncitizens to challenge their detention in district courts if those challenges also question the grounds for their removal. The response from the individual identified as D.C. is due by Oct. 21, 2026, after which the justices will decide whether to add these cases to the 2026-27 oral argument docket.