An appeals court sided with the Trump administration on Tuesday to allow the government to resume expedited deportations nationwide.
A three-judge panel from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit ruled 2-1 that President Donald Trump could resume his expansion of “expedited removal” procedures nationwide for any undocumented immigrant who is in the country illegally and cannot prove they were in the country continuously for at least two years. Previously, this removal process was used primarily near the border, but Trump expanded it to the maximum extent allowed by Congress upon taking office at the start of his second term.
The decision reverses a ruling handed down by D.C. District Court Judge Jia Cobb, a Biden appointee, last August. Her ruling found the process likely violated due process rights and risked wrongful removal.
Two Trump-appointed judges, Justin Walker and Neomi Rao, comprised the majority ruling out of the D.C. Circuit Court on Tuesday, which found that the Trump administration’s directives do not violate due process.
Judge Robert Wilkins, an Obama appointee, dissented, writing that “due process does not wait for a final removal order to be issued before it is owed.”
The White House celebrated the ruling, with spokeswoman Abigail Jackson saying in a statement, “This D.C. Circuit win for the Administration solidifies what we have always said: President Trump is lawfully implementing the agenda he was elected to enact.”
James Percival, general counsel for the Department of Homeland Security, celebrated the ruling in a post on X, writing that the court “vindicated” the administration’s application of the law.
The legal challenge was initially brought by Make the Road New York, an immigrants’ advocacy organization.
“Today’s ruling is not the one we were hoping for, but it’s also not the end of the road,” Yaritza Mendez, the group’s deputy director, said in a statement. “The Trump administration’s attempt to expand expedited removal is just one of the many attacks that immigrant communities face daily. If allowed to move forward, it would severely undermine due process and lead to countless unjust or wrongful deportations, irreparably tearing apart families forever. Immigrant New Yorkers—and people around the country—are just trying to live their lives without fear.”
This story has been updated to include statements from the White House and Make the Road New York.
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