Blue state governor's pardon of convicted felon torpedos a major Supreme Court immigration fight

The Supreme Court will no longer hear an oral argument for a case centered on bond rights for noncitizens detained for lengthy periods, ruling the case moot after New York Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul pardoned a lawfully present Dominican citizen, who pleaded guilty to second-degree assault.

Hochul pardoned Keisy Guerrero Mariano, who is identified in court documents as "Keisy GM," in late August, effectively killing the Trump administration's appeal to the Supreme Court arguing that noncitizens, including those with green card status, do not have a legal right to a bond hearing for a prolonged detention if they have committed crimes that are grounds for mandatory deportation.

Hochul, who is staunchly opposed to President Donald Trump's immigration enforcement crackdown, issued the pardon for Mariano just as the brief was due.

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Solicitor General John Sauer agreed Friday that Genalo v. Black is now moot, but said the Trump administration will seek an "alternative vehicle" to challenge the Second Circuit’s 2024 ruling that prolonged immigration detention can trigger a constitutional right to a bond hearing.

Sauer said the administration intends to find another case through which the Supreme Court can resolve the issue during its 2026-27 term.

The lawsuit centered on the challenges of plaintiffs Carol Williams Black, a Jamaican national with lawful standing, and Mariano — both convicted criminals detained by ICE.

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Mariano was first arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers in 2020 over a 2015 second-degree assault conviction for which he served time, making him eligible for deportation.

He spent nearly two years in ICE detention, but was released in 2022 due to a nationwide injunction that required the release of detainees because of COVID-19 health risks.

Prior to his release, Judge John P. Cronan of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York denied Mariano's habeas corpus request in November 2021.

But in May 2024, the Second Circuit overruled Cronan's decision, ruling that the government must grant noncitizens a bond hearing once detention becomes "unreasonably long." Failure to do so, the court ruled, would violate the Fifth Amendment's due process clause.

The case was appealed to the Supreme Court, which agreed to hear the case June 15; however, the high court ruled Black's case moot because he had left the United States and filed a court declaration that he would not be returning to the country.

Black was convicted in New York in 2000 of sexually abusing a minor under the age of 11.

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Hochul's decision to issue a pardon to Mariano has garnered fierce criticism from legal experts.

"Pretty wild to fully pardon an aggravated felon to (1) stop the felon from getting deported and (2) stop the Supreme Court from ruling on an issue. (Especially as this litigation has been going on for years)," Eric Wessan, Iowa’s solicitor general, posted on X.

He praised Sauer's decision to fight back on the Second Circuit's ruling.

"I wonder how many non-American felons Governors like Hochul will choose to fully pardon and free to avoid them facing consequences for their actions," Wessan added.

Fox News Digital reached out to Hochul's office for comment.