ACLU Sues Trump Administration Over Accelerated Deportation of Undocumented Immigrants
The organization has filed a lawsuit challenging a DHS regulation that permits the swift deportation of undocumented immigrants who cannot demonstrate two years of continuous residence in the United States.
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) is taking legal action against high-ranking officials in the Trump administration concerning a recently implemented policy that accelerates the deportation process for undocumented immigrants in the U.S.
“The Administration’s decision to broaden expedited removal to a large number of noncitizens residing anywhere in the United States overlooks nearly thirty years of evidence indicating that the expedited removal process, even when applied at the border for newcomers, is prone to errors and leads to widespread infringements of individuals’ legal rights,” asserts the complaint. “The Rule is unlawful.”
The DHS regulation, which became effective on January 21, reinstates a directive from 2019 that allows for the rapid deportation of unlawful immigrants who are unable to verify at least two years of continuous residence in the U.S. and who are located within 100 miles of the border.
According to the DHS announcement, “The extensive application of expedited removal authority will enable DHS to more effectively and efficiently manage the substantial number of aliens unlawfully present in the United States, who have not been admitted or granted parole, and to ensure their swift removal from the United States, especially for those who do not qualify to enter, remain, or receive relief from removal.”
This new DHS policy follows multiple executive orders issued by President Donald Trump, which include declaring a border emergency, abolishing birthright citizenship, halting refugee admissions, dispatching troops to the border, and resuming border wall construction.
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Karoline Leavitt, the White House press secretary, informed reporters following Trump’s signing of the order that securing the border is the president’s “top priority.”
The ACLU, which is joined in its lawsuit by immigrant advocacy organization Make the Road New York, claims violations of the Fifth Amendment’s due process clause, the Immigration and Nationality Act, and the Administrative Procedure Act.
“Every individual in this country is entitled to due process—it is a fundamental principle of our governance,” remarked Arlenis Morel, co-executive director of Make the Road New York. “Accelerating the deportation of people who have come here seeking safety and aiming to establish a life for themselves and their families, without even affording them the chance to appear before a judge, will only instill fear in immigrant families and heighten the anxiety of being permanently separated from loved ones.”
The complaint indicates that the DHS regulation permits low-level department officers to promptly enforce expedited removal within the U.S. interior without regard for the family or community ties of the individual facing deportation. It further states that these individuals carry the burden of demonstrating that they should not be subject to swift removal, yet they are provided limited time and opportunity to do so.
“Consequently, many noncitizens are likely to face expedited removal erroneously,” the complaint claims.
Anand Balakrishnan, a senior staff attorney at the ACLU’s Immigrants’ Rights Project and lead counsel for the case, argued that the policy is an unconstitutional effort to bypass due process.
“The Trump administration seeks to utilize this unlawful policy to further its mass deportation agenda and fracture communities,” Balakrishnan stated. “Broadening expedited removal would offer Trump a shortcut to evade due process and the Constitution, and we are here to challenge it.”
As of the publication of this article, the White House had not responded to a request for comment regarding the lawsuit.
