This archive report was first published on 23 July 2019.
On July 22, 2019, the Trump administration announced a significant expansion of its expedited removal policy for undocumented immigrants.
According to a notice published in the Federal Register, the Department of Homeland Security will now apply the expedited removal process nationwide to individuals who are inadmissible to the US under INA 212(a)(6)(C) or (7) and have lived in the country for less than two years.
Expedited removal allows for the deportation of certain non-citizens without a court hearing before an immigration judge. Previously, this process was only used for individuals encountered within 100 miles of the US border and who had not been physically present in the US for 14 days.
The new guidelines will extend the program to include non-citizens inadmissible under INA 212(a)(6)(C) and (a)(7) who lack proof of being physically in the US for at least two years, regardless of where they are encountered by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) or Customs and Border Protection (CBP).
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and other civil and immigration rights groups have vowed to sue the administration to reverse this new guideline.
