A United States judge on Friday halted the Trump administration’s attempt to vastly expand a fast-track deportation process, dealing a setback to the former president’s immigration agenda.
The procedure, known as “expedited removal”, had previously allowed authorities to deport migrants caught near the Mexican border if they had entered within the previous two weeks.
Since January, however, Trump’s administration had widened its use nationwide, applying it to migrants who had been in the country for up to two years.
US District Judge Jia Cobb ruled that the expansion risked migrants being “erroneously” deported without due process, including the chance to prove they had lived in the United States for more than two years.
“Unlike those traditionally subject to expedited removal — detained at or near the border shortly after crossing — this new group has long since entered our country,” Cobb wrote in a 48-page opinion.
She criticised the administration’s argument that migrants who entered illegally had no rights under the Fifth Amendment. “If that were correct, not only non-citizens but everyone would be at risk,” she warned.
The case was brought by Make The Road New York, a migrant rights organisation. Cobb, appointed by President Joe Biden, stressed that her ruling did not question the constitutionality of expedited removal itself, nor its traditional use at the border.
Trump, campaigning for a return to the White House, has pledged to deport millions of undocumented migrants. But his plans have repeatedly faced legal challenges, particularly over the right of those targeted to due process.
Quoting the Constitution, Judge Cobb reminded that “no person shall be removed from the United States without opportunity, at some time, to be heard.”