In the case of Carlson et al. v. Landon, District Director of Immigration and Naturalization Service in 1951, the U.S Supreme Court upheld the detention without bail of five non-citizen members of the Communist Party who were facing deportation proceedings under a provision of the McCarran Internal Security Act. The petitioners argued that their detention was arbitrary and violated their Fifth Amendment rights to due process because they posed no risk for flight or danger to society. However, Attorney General J. Howard McGrath had determined that their release would be prejudicial to public interest based on evidence suggesting they were active participants in an organization advocating violent overthrowing government policies - which made them potential threats during times when national security could be endangered by foreign aggression (Cold War). The court ruled 5-4 in favor of Landon stating that Congress granted discretionary power to executive authorities regarding alien detentions; thus it did not violate constitutional rights as long as there's reasonable cause supporting such decisions.

In the dissenting opinion for Carlson et al. v. Landon, Justice Hugo Black argued that the majority's decision to allow indefinite detention of non-citizen members of the Communist Party was a violation of their constitutional rights. He contended that this ruling gave too much power to administrative officials and allowed them to imprison individuals based on mere suspicion rather than concrete evidence or conviction in court. Furthermore, he criticized the majority for interpreting immigration laws in such a way as to permit punitive action against political beliefs, which he saw as an infringement upon freedom of thought and association protected by First Amendment rights. In his view, unless there is clear proof that these individuals pose an immediate threat or danger, they should not be deprived of their liberty without due process.