On Tuesday, the Trump administration made a significant expansion of expedited deportations, broadening the scope of an immigration policy known as “expedited removal” that was previously restricted to areas near U.S. borders.
Under expedited removal, U.S. immigration officials can deport migrants who lack the necessary documentation through a faster process that avoids the often lengthy and overcrowded immigration court system.
If individuals subject to expedited removal do not seek asylum or fail to prove they may have a valid asylum claim, they can be quickly deported without having the chance to appear before an immigration judge.
Before the change on Tuesday, expedited removal could only be used on unauthorized immigrants detained within 100 miles of an international border and who had been in the U.S. for less than two weeks.
The new policy, implemented by the Department of Homeland Security, extends expedited removal to unauthorized immigrants anywhere in the U.S. who cannot prove they have been in the country for more than two years.
This action reinstates a policy from the first Trump administration that had been discontinued by the Biden administration. The policy went into effect at 6 p.m. Eastern Time on Tuesday.
In the less than 48 hours following his return to the Oval Office, President Trump has taken a series of swift and, in some cases, unprecedented actions to initiate a comprehensive crackdown on immigration.
Trump At Southern Border (Photo: Getty Images)
Among his measures, President Trump used his executive powers to shut down access to the U.S. asylum system, declared a national emergency to send more troops to the southern border, froze the refugee admission programs, and ordered federal agencies to deny birthright citizenship to children of immigrants residing in the U.S. without legal status or on temporary visas.
This last move has already led to lawsuits from Democratic-led states and pro-immigrant advocacy groups.
Additionally, the president has taken steps to lay the groundwork for mass deportations, directing federal officials to expand immigration detention centers and allowing local law enforcement agencies to arrest and detain unauthorized immigrants.
The Trump administration also reversed Biden-era guidelines that prohibited deportation officers from making arrests at “sensitive locations,” such as schools and churches.
Cities with “sanctuary” policies, which limit cooperation with federal immigration authorities like Immigration and Customs Enforcement, are now bracing for an uptick in federal operations targeting unauthorized immigrants within their communities.
While Trump administration officials have stated that individuals with criminal records will be prioritized for arrest, they have also indicated that unauthorized immigrants with no criminal history could still be detained, marking a stark contrast to the Biden administration’s approach.
