Title: Fact Sheet: Expedited Removal - National Immigration Forum
Headings: Fact Sheet: Expedited Removal
Fact Sheet: Expedited Removal
What is expedited removal?
How many expedited removals does the federal government conduct?
How is expedited removal limited?
How has the Trump administration proposed to expand the expedited removal process?
What occurs when a person subject to expedited removal has fled their country of origin due to fear of persecution?
Are people ever mistakenly removed under expedited removal?
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Content: Regulations promulgated in 2004 further limited the use of expedited removal, requiring that the process only apply to noncitizens that have been picked up within 14 days of arrival in the U.S and within 100 miles of a U.S land border. However, draft DHS regulations under consideration by the Trump administration would erase these limitations. How has the Trump administration proposed to expand the expedited removal process? President Trump issued an executive order in 2017 announcing that DHS would issue new regulations to expand the use of expedited removal, allowing his administration to utilize it more often to speed up deportations. In April 2019, there were reports that DHS draft regulations to expand expedited removal were under consideration, consistent with the scope of the 1996 statute that created the process of expedited removal. Under the draft regulations, immigrants who are not able to prove that they have been continuously living in the United States for two years or more – as opposed to two weeks or more – would be eligible for expedited removal. The proposed change would also remove the 100 mile border limitation, and allow officials to deport undocumented immigrants from anywhere in the United States on an expedited basis. What occurs when a person subject to expedited removal has fled their country of origin due to fear of persecution? A noncitizen seeking asylum to flee persecution in their country of origin are not subject to expedited removal. If a noncitizen states to a CBP officer that they fear returning to their country or origin, or that they intend to apply for asylum, the officer must refer the noncitizen to an asylum officer, who will then conduct an interview of the noncitizen to determine whether he or she has a “credible fear” of persecution or torture if returned to his or her country of origin.