Habeas Corpus Filings Surge: 378 Cases in First Two Months of 2026 as Detainees Challenge Unlawful Detention

Immigrants filed 752 federal habeas corpus cases since Trump's second term began, with 378 in just the first two months of 2026—a rate that has overwhelmed civil rights attorneys in detention-heavy states. The ACLU of Louisiana launched an emergency recruitment initiative to bring in lawyers from across the country to handle the caseload. A federal court separately blocked the administration's fast-track deportation policy in a separate ACLU challenge.