Trump is rapidly expanding deportations across the United States

The Trump administration on Tuesday expanded the authority of Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials to quickly remove undocumented immigrants from the United States, a move that could help President Trump carry out his campaign. great dismissal he promised.

The new policy, detailed in a notice posted online, makes it easier for the Department of Homeland Security to deport undocumented immigrants who, when arrested, can’t prove they’ve been there for more than two years they were in the country. Such sweeping powers — a process known as expedited removal, which allows unauthorized immigrants to be deported without trial — have long been reserved for areas near the southern border.

But the policy issued by the secretary of homeland security, Benjamin C. Huffman, allows ICE officials to use it throughout the entire United States.

“The impact of this change is to improve national security and public order – while reducing government costs – by facilitating rapid immigration decisions,” the statement said.

Mr. Trump’s first administration tried to implement such a fast-track method nationwide for deportations, but federal courts rejected those efforts. The ensuing legal battle kept the law in effect until late 2020, when the Department of Homeland Security allowed it to move forward while the lawsuit continued. The policy was scrapped by the Biden administration.

Like some of Mr. Trump’s first moves on immigration, the rule is likely to face other legal challenges.

Generally, unauthorized immigrants brought to the United States are given a notice to appear in immigration court, where they can make their case to stay in the country. The court is struggling under more than three million cases, leading to some cases in the coming years. Evictions usually cannot begin until a judge issues a decision.

By cutting justice for immigrants who meet the policy’s criteria, the fast-track process could offer another tool for the Trump administration to fulfill a presidential campaign promise. to carry out mass deportations early in his presidency, experts and former ICE officials say.

“Expedited removals can encourage faster removals and increase the number of immigrants removed. Unlike lengthy immigration court processes that can take years, expedited removals can be completed in hours a few,” Kathleen Bush-Joseph, a policy analyst at the Migration Policy Institute, said in an email.

Ms. Bush-Joseph said the burden would be on immigrants to provide documentation that “they have been in the country for more than two years, have legal status, or claim protections such as asylum.”

Corey Price, a former top ICE official who oversaw deportations at the agency, said the policy could make a big difference for ICE officials tasked with removing more people.

“I hope they lean heavily on it,” he said.

Immigrant rights groups quickly condemned the measure as a way to intimidate immigrants across the country.

“Expedited removal is a deeply flawed practice that often denies immigrants access to aid, unnecessarily separates families and makes a mockery of the right to counsel,” said Lindsay Toczylowski, president of the Center. on immigration protection law, which helps with immigrant representation. .