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[10-21-02 18:35:10] PAGES PGT: OPIN
ZADVYDAS v. DAVIS
Opinion of the Court
Justice Breyer delivered the opinion of the Court.
When an alien has been found to be unlawfully present
in the United States and a final order of removal has been
entered, the Government ordinarily secures the alien’s
removal during a subsequent 90-day statutory “removal
period,” during which time the alien normally is held in
custody.
A special statute authorizes further detention if the Government fails to remove the alien during those 90 days. It
says:
“An alien ordered removed [1] who is inadmissible . . .
[2] [or] removable [as a result of violations of status requirements or entry conditions, violations of criminal
law, or reasons of security or foreign policy] or [3] who
has been determined by the Attorney General to be a
risk to the community or unlikely to comply with the
order of removal, may be detained beyond the removal
period and, if released, shall be subject to [certain] terms
of supervision . . . .” 8 U. S. C. § 1231(a)(6) (1994 ed.,
Supp. V).
In these cases, we must decide whether this postremoval-period statute authorizes the Attorney General to
detain a removable alien indefinitely beyond the removal
period or only for a period reasonably necessary to secure
the alien’s removal. We deal here with aliens who were
admitted to the United States but subsequently ordered
removed. Aliens who have not yet gained initial admission
to this country would present a very different question.
See infra, at 693–694. Based on our conclusion that indefinite detention of aliens in the former category would raise
serious constitutional concerns, we construe the statute to
contain an implicit “reasonable time” limitation, the application of which is subject to federal-court review.