Supreme Court Drops Noncitizen Bond Case After Hochul Pardon Voids 2026 Appeal

3 articles · Updated · Fox News · Sep 12

Late-August clemency for Keisy Guerrero Mariano led the Supreme Court to cancel oral arguments and declare Genalo v. Black moot, wiping out a closely watched test of bond rights for noncitizens in prolonged immigration detention.
The pardon removed one of the two remaining plaintiffs after Carol Williams Black had already become moot by leaving the United States and declaring he would not return.
Solicitor General John Sauer told the court Friday the Trump administration still wants the justices to review the issue and will look for another case in the 2026-27 term.
The underlying dispute stems from a May 2024 Second Circuit ruling that detention deemed "unreasonably long" triggers a Fifth Amendment right to a bond hearing, a position the administration argues should not apply to deportable noncitizens with criminal convictions.
The collapse of the case deepens a broader clash over immigration enforcement, with DHS counsel James Percival denouncing judicial activism and critics accusing Hochul of using clemency to block a national precedent.