578
Opinion of Breyer, J.
be avoided." Crowell v. Benson, 285 U. S. 22, 62 (1932); accord, Zadvydas, supra, at 689.
For another, the relevant statutes literally say nothing about an individual who, armed with a strong argument against deportability, might, or might not, fall within their terms. Title 8 U. S. C. § 1226(c) tells the Attorney General to "take into custody any alien who . . . is deportable" (emphasis added), not one who may, or may not, fall into that category. Indeed, the Government now permits such an alien to obtain bail if his argument against deportability is significantly stronger than substantial, i. e., strong enough to make it "substantially unlikely" that the Government will win. Matter of Joseph, 22 I. & N. Dec. 799 (BIA 1999). Cf. 8 CFR § 3.19(h)(2)(ii) (2002).
Finally, bail standards drawn from the criminal justice system are available to fill this statutory gap. Federal law makes bail available to a criminal defendant after conviction and pending appeal provided (1) the appeal is "not for the purpose of delay," (2) the appeal "raises a substantial question of law or fact," and (3) the defendant shows by "clear and convincing evidence" that, if released, he "is not likely to flee or pose a danger to the safety" of the community. 18 U. S. C. § 3143(b). These standards give considerable weight to any special governmental interest in detention (e. g., process-related concerns or class-related flight risks, see ante, at 528). The standards are more protective of a detained alien's liberty interest than those currently administered in the Immigration and Naturalization Service's Joseph hearings. And they have proved workable in practice in the criminal justice system. Nothing in the statute forbids their use when § 1226(c) deportability is in doubt.
I would interpret the (silent) statute as imposing these bail standards. Cf. Zadvydas, supra, at 698; United States v. Witkovich, 353 U. S. 194, 201-202 (1957); Kent v. Dulles, 357 U. S. 116, 129 (1958). So interpreted, the statute would require the Government to permit a detained alien to seek
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