The Trump administration incredibly expanded Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) ability to quickly deport illegal immigrants from the U.S. on Tuesday, removing yet another enforcement hurdle.
“Expedited removal” is a policy that allows federal immigration officials within 100 miles of an international land border to remove illegal migrants via a streamlined process that bypasses the backlogged immigration court system. Per a notice posted by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), ICE agents now have the ability to implement expedited removal anywhere in the country, removing illegal migrants’ ability to slow-walk their removal by contesting their deportation order in court.
Before the DHS notice, federal immigration officials were only permitted to use expedited removal on illegal migrants detained within 100 miles of the border who had only been in the U.S. for under two weeks. Now any illegal migrant anywhere across the country who can’t prove they’ve been in the U.S. for more than two years are subject to expedited removal, according to the notice.
“The effect of this change will be to enhance national security and public safety — while reducing government costs — by facilitating prompt immigration determinations,” reads a section of the memo.
“In particular, the full application of expedited removal authority will enable DHS to address more effectively and efficiently the large volume of aliens who are present in the United States unlawfully, without having been admitted or paroled into the United States, and ensure the prompt removal from the United States of those not entitled to enter, remain, or be provided relief or protection from removal,” the memo continued.
President Donald Trump attempted to expand expedited removal in 2019 during his first term, but was blocked by the courts. Detained migrants not subject to the policy are able to contest their deportation orders, a move that can keep them from being removed for years and add to the historic backlog of the immigration court system.
The DHS notice follows other major immigration reforms by the Trump administration. On his first day in office, Trump signed several executive orders that declare a national emergency at the border, pauses refugee resettlement and restricts birthright citizenship from individuals born to parents living illegally in the country or on temporary visas.
The birthright citizenship order is already a target of a lawsuit by liberal organizations. It’s likely that opponents of Trump’s immigration agenda will also sue to block the latest expedited removal change.
The Trump administration Tuesday also rescinded a years-long directive that restricted where ICE agents could conduct enforcement activities. The Biden White House had considerably expanded the scope of “sensitive locations,” places where ICE agents could not go, but the new policy now gives deportation officers nearly complete discretion on where to apprehend criminal illegal migrants.
Border czar Tom Homan, who is tasked with spearheading the administration’s deportation operations, previously told the Daily Caller News Foundation that ICE agents will operate on a policy of the “worst first,” prioritizing criminal illegal migrants over other foreign nationals. However, he also made clear that anyone living unlawfully in the country is fair game for removal.
The new expedited removal policy official took effect at 6 p.m. Eastern Time on Tuesday.
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