Appeals Court Blocks Expansion of U.S. Fast-Track Deportation Policy

A federal appeals court has refused to allow the Trump administration to broaden its fast-track deportation program, which would have enabled immigration authorities to swiftly remove migrants living anywhere in the United States. In a 2–1 decision, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit declined to pause an earlier ruling by U.S. District Judge Jia Cobb, who found that the expanded policy jeopardized the due process rights of migrants who could be detained far from the border.

Judge Cobb’s August ruling barred the Department of Homeland Security from enforcing policies that risked rapid expulsion of individuals the administration believed had been in the U.S. for less than two years. While the administration sought a stay pending appeal, Judges Patricia Millett and J. Michelle Childs said it was unlikely to prove that its procedures sufficiently protected migrants’ Fifth Amendment rights, warning of “serious risks of erroneous summary removal.” The court did, however, temporarily ease one part of Cobb’s order relating to how authorities assess credible fear claims.

In a dissenting opinion, Judge Neomi Rao argued the ruling represented “impermissible judicial interference.” The administration’s appeal is set for hearing on December 9. The disputed policy, introduced in January, revived a similar measure first implemented under Donald Trump in 2019 and later rescinded by the Biden administration after legal challenges from immigrant rights groups including Make the Road New York.

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