Federal Judge Patti B. Saris, who is reviewing a class-action lawsuit challenging how immigration judges conduct bond hearings, raised concerns that the government would not heed her ruling — as it has ignored her previous decisions.

“I have to say I have some concern that, as far as I can tell, the immigration judges are simply ignoring the case law, not just in this court, but in the rest of the country,” Saris said, noting that she has made previous rulings that pertained to immigration judges.

Saris planned to rule on whether to certify a class for the lawsuit — in this case, people who attorneys say didn’t or might not receive due process in immigration bond hearings — but first asked the parties to file motions that could help move this case up to the First Circuit Court of Appeals. She said that strategy would ensure that this case would join other, similar cases that are currently moving through the First Circuit.

“I’m worried that the court is just being ignored, not just me but other judges,” she said. “That is my concern, which is why I want to move it along quickly.”

The Monday hearing focused on a class-action lawsuit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union of Massachusetts on behalf of three immigrants in New England who attorneys say were denied due process by immigration judges despite having little to no criminal record, family ties and several years living in the United States. One of the plaintiffs is a Brockton father of three whose wife is a U.S. citizen.

Daniel McFadden, an attorney for the American Civil Liberties Union of Massachusetts, said multiple district courts across the country and the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals have ruled that the government, not the defendant, has the burden of proof in determining whether someone should or shouldn’t be detained.

“I think it’s deeply concerning that the government has now been told by multiple courts across the country, including in Massachusetts, New York, New Hampshire, Colorado, that this practice of locking people up without showing a reason is unlawful, and yet the government persists in continuing with this unlawful course of conduct, and it separates people from their families, from their homes," he said after Monday’s hearing.

Saris asked attorneys representing the three plaintiffs to file for a preliminary injunction. If granted, a preliminary injunction could temporarily block immigration agents from detaining people for months at a time or include other orders while the lawsuit is reviewed in court.

Saris gave the government 30 days to respond.

Saris said she hoped the motion for a preliminary injunction would be one of several steps the parties could take to move the case up to the First Circuit Court of Appeals.

The American Civil Liberties of Massachusetts filed a lawsuit in June on behalf of a three immigrants who were detained for months after being arrested by Immigration and Customs agents. They include Gilberto Pereira Brito, a Brockton father of three; Florentin Avila Lucas, a New Hampshire farmer; and Jacky Celicourt, a New Hampshire resident who fled political violence in Haiti.

For breaking news in Boston and other parts of Eastern Massachusetts, download MassLive’s app and subscribe to Boston push alerts

People who are detained by ICE can fight deportation by proving they are U.S. citizens or that they should have permission to stay in the country because of family ties or other qualifying factors. Detainees typically have a bond hearing where an immigration judge can decide whether that detainee should remain jailed throughout the immigration case.

The ACLU attorneys argued that the three plaintiffs — and countless more who face deportation — have had “flawed detention hearings” where the immigrants, not the government, had to prove they are not a flight risk or public safety hazard.

In criminal courts, for example, the government has the burden of proving that a suspect should not be released because the person is a flight risk or poses a danger to the community.

Since the class-action lawsuit was filed in June, all three plaintiffs have been released from immigrant detention.

Gilberto Pereira Brito's children.

Pereira Brito, 39, was arrested March 3 after agents went to his home in Brockton. Pereira Brito lives with his wife, a U.S. citizen, and his three children. He is the primary breadwinner because his wife has a disability that renders her unable to work, attorneys said.

Pereira Brito had a detention hearing in April where he was denied bond because of a motor vehicle charge from more than a decade ago. The judge said he did not prove “that he neither poses a danger to the community nor is a flight of risk,” despite acknowledging that he lived in the country for more than a decade, had a fixed address and family ties.

He was released three months later, following the filing of the class-action lawsuit, attorneys said.

“He’s a person who’s had very little interaction with the criminal justice system and certainly has never presented a danger or risk of flight to anybody,” McFadden said.

Avila Lucas, a dairy farmer, was detained March 20 by Border Patrol agents who were conducting surveillance in Lebanon, New Hampshire. He was denied bond in his hearing in May because the judge said he couldn’t prove he is not a danger or a flight risk. Avila Lucas had no criminal record and was considered an established member of his community, attorneys said.

He was detained for at least three months before being released.

Celicourt was walking out of a Nashua, New Hampshire courtroom on Jan. 16 when he was arrested by ICE agents. An immigration judge denied him bond at a February hearing because he had been convicted of stealing a $6 pair of headphones, ruling that he could not prove he is not a danger or a flight risk.

Celicourt was detained for nearly six months before he was released.

Saris planned to certify the class in the complaint — immigrant detainees who might not have received a fair bond hearing — but mulled over whether to create one general class of immigrants facing deportation proceedings or to also include a sub-class of people in deportation proceedings who have already had bond hearings.

Saris’ decision on the class certification could come as early as Tuesday.