Washington State Judges and Immigration Bond Policies

In Washington state, four immigration judges were at the forefront of a significant change in immigration enforcement, challenging a long-held American tradition. Since July, the denial of bond for many detained on immigration charges has led to tens of thousands of lawsuits, alleging unconstitutional detention. The Trump administration faced a setback when an appeals court overturned its policy, contrasting previous rulings, indicating a potential Supreme Court confrontation.

This approach began years earlier in Tacoma, where judges at the Northwest ICE Processing Center started denying bond. Outside of local immigration attorneys, this practice went largely unnoticed. When the Trump administration adopted this reasoning, it reflected the judges’ earlier decisions. Neil Floyd, a former Tacoma judge, shared that clerks researched for six months before deciding that Congress did not authorize them to grant bonds. “We decided it collectively because it was too big a decision for one person,” Floyd stated, who later became a federal prosecutor.

The judges based their decision on a 1996 law requiring “applicants for admission” to be detained. This was previously applied to recent border crossers, while long-term residents had bond hearing rights. However, the Tacoma judges believed the law’s fair interpretation implies that individuals asking for asylum at entry points must be detained until a decision is made on their admissibility.

Matt Adams, an attorney for the Northwest Immigrant Rights Project, was shocked by the change, viewing it as a prosecutorial tactic to increase detention. A lawsuit filed in 2025 alleges that the Tacoma judges disregarded decades of legal precedent. The Justice Department has not commented on these claims. In July, ICE aligned with the Tacoma judges’ view, indicating that immigrants without legal entry are “applicants for admission” and subject to mandatory detention, eliminating bond hearings. The number of detained immigrants doubled last year, aiming for over 92,000 beds by November.

This shift affects around 2 million immigrants now facing mandatory detention. Since Trump resumed office, over 40,000 lawsuits have been filed by detainees. Yet, many have seen success in courts, with some federal judges ordering release or mandating bond hearings. Victor Cruz, arrested without a warrant, spent 24 days detained but was released after a bond hearing and won his case. Meanwhile, others have faced extended detention periods.

In Tacoma, Judge Tammy Fitting, one of the initial four judges, continues holding bond hearings following federal court orders. During a recent session, she denied bond to an Oregon resident with a past offense but granted bond to another immigrant with no criminal record, though his legal status remains uncertain.