Document ID: ./input/supremecourt_opinions/opinions/16pdf/15-1358_6khn.pdf
Page Number: 8

Cite as:  582 U. S. ____ (2017) 

3 

Opinion of the Court 

respondents.  The  various  claims  and  theories  advanced 
for recovery, and the grounds asserted for their dismissal 
as  insufficient  as  a  matter  of  law,  will  be  addressed  in 
turn. 

I 

Given  the  present  procedural  posture  of  the  suit,  the 
Court  accepts  as  true  the  facts  alleged  in  the  complaint. 
See Iqbal, 556 U. S., at 678. 

A 

In the weeks following the September 11, 2001, terrorist 
attacks—the  worst  in  American  history—the  Federal 
Bureau  of  Investigation  (FBI)  received  more  than  96,000
tips  from  members  of  the  public.    See  id.,  at  667.  Some 
tips  were  based  on  well-grounded  suspicion  of  terrorist 
activity, but many others may have been based on fear of 
Arabs  and  Muslims.    FBI  agents  “questioned  more  than 
1,000  people  with  suspected  links  to  the  [September  11]
attacks in particular or to terrorism in general.”  Ibid. 

While  investigating  the  tips—including  the  less  sub-
stantiated  ones—the  FBI  encountered  many  aliens  who
were  present  in  this  country  without  legal  authorization.
As a result, more than 700 individuals were arrested and 
detained on immigration charges.  Ibid.  If the FBI desig-
nated  an  alien  as  not  being  “of  interest”  to  the  investiga-
tion,  then  he  or  she  was  processed  according  to  normal
procedures.  In  other  words  the  alien  was  treated  just  as 
if, for example, he or she had been arrested at the border 
after an illegal entry.  If, however, the FBI designated an
alien  as  “of  interest”  to  the  investigation,  or  if  it  had
doubts  about  the  proper  designation  in  a  particular  case, 
the  alien  was  detained  subject  to  a  “hold-until-cleared
policy.”  The aliens were held without bail. 

Respondents  were  among  some  84  aliens  who  were
subject to the hold-until-cleared policy and detained at the