The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) sued Wednesday over President Trump’s expansion of a program that allows immigration officials to carry out swift deportations.
Trump’s Department of Homeland Security on Tuesday issued a rule enabling expedited removals to take place nationwide for migrants who cannot prove they have been in the country for two years. It’s a massive expansion, as under the Biden administration the program was limited to within 100 miles of international borders.
Expedited removals enable law enforcement to carry out deportations after a quick inspection, without conducting a full hearing, if a migrant does not present a valid asylum claim.
“The Administration’s decision to expand expedited removal to a vast group of noncitizens living anywhere in the United States disregards nearly three decades of experience showing that the expedited removal process, even when used at the border for new arrivals, is rife with errors and results in widespread violations of individuals’ legal rights,” the ACLU wrote in its complaint.
Filed in Washington, D.C.’s federal district court, the ACLU’s lawsuit claims Trump’s expansion runs afoul of federal immigration law and violates the constitutional due process rights of those subjected to the expedited proceedings.
The Biden administration relied heavily on expedited removals after ending Title 42, which allowed for migrants to be swiftly expelled, barring them from seeking asylum.
The ACLU is representing Make the Road New York, a progressive immigration nonprofit that says its members would be subject to Trump’s expansion.
“Everyone in this country is entitled to due process — it is one of the core tenets of our government,” Arlenis Morel, the group’s co-executive director, said in a statement.
“To fast track the deportation of people who have entered this country to find safety and build a life for themselves and their families, without even a chance to see a judge, will only sow fear in immigrant communities and increase the terror of being separated from loved ones forever,” Morel continued.
The Hill has reached out to the Justice Department for comment.
Wednesday’s lawsuit marked the ACLU’s second challenge to a major Trump administration action since he took office. The civil rights group is separately suing over Trump’s executive order restricting birthright citizenship.
Rebecca Beitsch contributed.
