Appeals court allows expanded fast-track deportations to resume
A D.C. Circuit panel cleared the Trump administration to broaden expedited removal for immigrants detained inside the United States.
By Sofia Marchetti · World Affairs Correspondent
2 min read
A federal appeals court has allowed President Donald Trump’s administration to move ahead with a broader fast-track deportation process for immigrants in the United States. The decision removes a lower-court block on the Department of Homeland Security’s effort to expand who can be placed in expedited removal.
A majority of a three-judge panel of the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit voted Tuesday to reverse the earlier ruling. The case concerns a policy that applies expedited removal beyond migrants stopped near the US border.
Expedited removal had previously been used more narrowly to quickly send back migrants apprehended at the border. Under the Trump administration’s approach, the process can also be used for noncitizens detained anywhere in the country if they cannot show they have been in the United States for more than two years.
Immigrant rights groups have opposed the expansion, saying it denies due process because people placed in the process do not have the same ability to challenge their deportation. Due process protections are part of the US Constitution and apply to people in the country regardless of citizenship status.
The lawsuit was brought by Make the Road New York, an immigrant rights organization. In August, US District Judge Jia Cobb ruled that the policy violated due process rights and blocked the Department of Homeland Security from expanding eligibility for expedited removal.
Cobb also said the fast-track system carried a risk of mistakes, including the removal of people who should not be deported. “When it comes to people living in the interior of the country, prioritizing speed over all else will inevitably lead the Government to erroneously remove people via this truncated process,” Cobb wrote in her August 25 opinion.
The appeals court disagreed and overturned Cobb’s order. Judge Justin Walker, who was appointed by Trump, wrote for the court that the administration can “expedite removal to the maximum extent allowed by Congress.”
The ruling gives the administration more room to use expedited removal as part of its wider deportation policy. It also marks a setback for immigrant rights advocates who have argued that expanding the process inside the country raises the chance of wrongful removals and limits access to legal review.
This story draws on original reporting from Al Jazeera.