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Jamal Kiyemba, et al. v. Barack H. Obama, et al.

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A federal appeals court in Washington, D.C. overturned a lower court opinion that directed 17 Guantanamo Bay detainees be transferred to the United States for prosecution in federal courts.

The detainees are known as ethnic Uighurs, members of a Turkic Muslim minority in Xinjiang, a western Chinese province.

In an 18-page opinion, the court's majority concludes that only immigration officials  —  not judges  —  have legal authority to admit non-U.S. citizens loocated outside the United States into the country.

The majority explains that:

"…the bottom line is clear. Aliens [like the detainees] are not eligible for admission into the United States unless they have applied for admission."

The dissenting judge disagreed, concluding that:

Today the court nevertheless appears to conclude that a habeas court lacks authority to order that a non-“enemy combatant” alien be released into the country (as distinct from be admitted under the immigration laws) when the Executive [Branch] can point to no legal justification for detention and to no foreseeable path of release.

You can read the majority and dissenting opinions below: