A panel of the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals on Wednesday sided with the Trump administration in a dispute over the detention of an illegal alien, ruling against an invidual who claimed he was ineligible for deportation because he was an "applicant for admission."

The illegal alien in question did not contest that he had entered the country illegally, but argued that because he was seeking legitimate status, he should not be subject to mandatory detention and instead face a bond hearing. The three-judge panel of the 8th Circuit reversed that decision 2-1.

The case is a procedural win for Trump, who has faced a litany of legal challenges to his mass deportation policies. Thus far, the administration has claimed roughly 700,000 deportations and 2.3 million voluntary exits. The administration estimates that roughly 22 million illegal aliens are inside the United States.

Ben Whedon is the Chief Political Correspondent at Just the News. Follow him on X.