Amid a national surge in habeas petitions, federal courts in Mississippi and Louisiana have typically taken three months or more to rule on detainees’ freedom.
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courts → take → freedom
- How Others Adjusted:
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Others → adjust → ?
Federal courts with more cases, such as in California and Florida, have closed cases at a faster rate, usually within weeks, according to a ProPublica analysis.
- Waiting in Detention:
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courts → close → Detention
Advocates say the delays leave people waiting in prisonlike detention facilities.
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delays → say → facilities
Some are asking to be deported rather than wait.
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Some → ask → ?
These highlights were written by the reporters and editors who worked on this story.
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who → write → story
When President Donald Trump returned to the White House, he pushed for a seismic shift in immigration enforcement resulting in mass detention.
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he → return → detention
Immigrants with no criminal convictions, who under previous administrations would have been released on bond or not detained in the first place, would now be held while their immigration cases were pending.
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cases → release → place
In an effort to gain their freedom, tens of thousands of detainees have filed what are known as habeas petitions, asking federal judges to rule that they have been unlawfully held by the government.
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they → gain → government
But their chances of a speedy ruling have varied dramatically.
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chances → vary → ruling
For some, freedom came within days.
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freedom → come → days
Others have waited months for a decision.
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Others → wait → decision
Some were deported before a judge could rule.
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judge → deport → ?
A ProPublica analysis of court records from the more than 70,000 habeas cases filed since January 2025 found that some judges take far longer than others to resolve cases as federal courts have adjusted unevenly to the unprecedented flood of filings.
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courts → file → filings
The waits have been particularly long in parts of Mississippi and Louisiana, where federal judges have usually taken three months or more to decide whether a detainee should be released.
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detainee → take → months
Among the cases that have been resolved in Mississippi, half took 92 days or more — the longest of any state.
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half → resolve → state
How Long Habeas Cases Take to Close, by District
While new habeas petition filings have slowed somewhat in recent months, they remain far higher than before Trump began his second term.
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Trump → take → term
The massive caseload has inundated the already overwhelmed federal courts and overburdened judges who suddenly have had hundreds more cases on their already crowded dockets.
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who → inundate → dockets
District courts with staffing shortages have struggled to keep habeas cases moving.
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cases → struggle → shortages
The delays have left many detainees waiting in prisonlike facilities overseen by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement that advocates say are substandard and unsafe, riddled with allegations about spoiled food, beatings and medical neglect, though federal officials dispute those claims.
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officials → leave → claims
Some immigrants have been deported or accepted the government’s offer to leave the country rather than wait for a federal judge to rule on their freedom.
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judge → deport → freedom
“The amount of food they are being given is simply not enough, and people are left hungry,” said Liudmila Nafikov, whose husband has been detained in a large Mississippi facility for nearly two years and is awaiting a decision on his habeas case.
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husband → give → case
“For three days, they have had no hot food or hot water.”
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they → have → food
“I do not believe it is fair or humane to keep people in these conditions for such a long time, especially people who have committed no crime and people who are sick.”
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who → believe → crime
A Department of Homeland Security spokesperson acknowledged an Aug. 22 fire outside the Natchez, Mississippi, facility that affected “all hot water, kitchen services, and laundry operations,” adding, “No one was injured as a result of this incident and as of August 24, the facility is back in 100% operation with hot water and meals.”
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facility → acknowledge → water
The spokesperson called claims of substandard conditions in federal detention facilities false, adding, “All detainees are provided with 3 meals a day, clean water, clothing, bedding, showers, soap, and toiletries.”
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detainees → call → meals
Federal courts elsewhere have adjusted to the new reality and closed cases at a faster pace.
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courts → adjust → pace
In Texas, California and Florida, courts have handled thousands more habeas petitions and typically have made decisions in about a month and a half or less, according to ProPublica analysis.
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courts → handle → analysis
Courts in Minnesota, which experienced a surge in habeas petitions during an immigration enforcement push earlier this year, have reached decisions and closed cases even faster, with a median of about 12 days.
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which → experience → days
One commonality across districts: The vast majority of judges have ruled against the Trump administration in habeas cases, Politico found.
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Politico → rule → cases
Lawyers say that judges who are more receptive to habeas relief often issue decisions relatively quickly.
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who → say → decisions
“A Completely Unresponsive Black Hole”
Habeas corpus, which means “you should have the body” in Latin, gives anyone in the United States a chance to challenge their detention in court.
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you → mean → court
It is intended to be adjudicated quickly because a person’s liberty is at stake.
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liberty → intend → stake
“Delay is undesirable in all aspects of our justice system, but it is especially to be avoided in the sensitive context of habeas corpus,” the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit wrote in a 1988 decision.
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Court → avoid → decision
The habeas statute directs judges to give the government three days to initially respond with justification for the detention but allows for that deadline to be extended up to 20 days.
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deadline → direct → days
In practice, however, judges have broad discretion to set their own deadlines as they balance habeas petitions alongside other civil litigation and criminal trials that can tie up a court, lawyers told ProPublica.
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lawyers → have → ProPublica
They have the power to order the parties to respond, grant extensions and determine the priority of cases before them.
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They → have → them
The U.S. courts’ rules governing non-immigration habeas cases are less specific, saying only that judges must order the government to respond “within a fixed time.”
California-based immigration attorney Bonita Gutierrez has seen swift movement on her habeas cases in the state, leading to the release of her clients — some within days.
But after the adult son of a longtime client was detained in August 2025 and sent to a detention center in Mississippi in November, she filed a habeas petition in that state in February.
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she → govern → February
Both sides presented their arguments, and the case sat for about a month with no decision from the judge.
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case → present → judge
Gutierrez received “radio silence” when she emailed the court deputy about it, she said.
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she → receive → it
…and 79 more, not listed.
