Migration Jurisprudence from the South › United States
Zadvydas v. Davis
Supreme Court of the United States · United States · 2001-06-28 · National court
Citation: 533 U.S. 678
Type of case: Administrative
Outcome: Decided for the migrant side
Question
May non-citizens ordered removed be detained indefinitely when no country will accept them?
What the court decided
No. The statute implicitly limits detention to a period reasonably necessary for removal, presumptively six months.
In plain language
Men who could not be deported because no country would take them were held for years. The Supreme Court said detention after about six months must end unless removal is likely soon.
Dalam bahasa sederhana
Pria yang tidak bisa dideportasi karena tidak ada negara yang menerima ditahan bertahun-tahun. MA menyatakan penahanan setelah sekitar enam bulan harus berakhir kecuali pemulangan segera mungkin.
Pertanyaan: Bolehkah bukan warga negara yang diperintahkan keluar ditahan tanpa batas ketika tidak ada negara yang mau menerima mereka?
What happened afterwards
- 2001-06-28: Judgment.
Sources
Open this decision in the interactive collection (compare, filter, Indonesian view, downloads).
Cite as: Institute for Migrant Rights (2026), Migration Jurisprudence from the South, version 0.1, https://theimr.org/court-decisions/d/us-zadvydas-2001/. This page summarizes a court decision for research and advocacy; it is not legal advice.