A federal judge has struck down Trump administration policies that sought to massively expand the use of fast-track deportations, saying they violate the constitutional rights of migrants who could now be detained anywhere in the country.
U.S. District Judge Jia Cobb in Washington, D.C., sided with an immigrant rights group on Friday and froze two policies introduced in January that put millions more migrants at risk of rapid expulsion.
For nearly three decades, expedited removal has been used mainly to quickly deport people caught crossing the border. But under the new rules, non-citizens arrested anywhere in the United States who couldn’t prove they had lived in the country for at least two years became subject to fast deportation.
The policy was similar to one first tried by the Trump administration in 2019, later rolled back by President Joe Biden. Cobb noted that immigration officials had recently made “aggressive” use of the expanded power.
Unlike migrants typically subject to quick removal, the new group targeted had been living in the U.S. for longer periods. That distinction, Cobb said, means they have stronger constitutional protections.
“They have a weighty liberty interest in remaining here and therefore must be afforded due process under the Fifth Amendment,” she wrote. She criticized the government for failing to adapt its procedures, calling the process “skimpy” and warning it risked wrongful deportations.
The administration asked Cobb to pause her ruling to prepare an appeal, but she refused.
A Department of Homeland Security official defended the policy, saying the decision overlooked Trump’s authority to deport dangerous individuals, describing it as a mandate to remove “the worst of the worst.”
The American Civil Liberties Union, representing the plaintiffs from Make the Road New York, did not immediately comment.
Earlier this month, Cobb also blocked another Trump initiative that aimed to speed up deportations for immigrants who entered under Biden’s humanitarian parole programs.
