US Court Allows Trump Administration to Expand Fast-track Deportation Process

A US federal appeals court on Tuesday cleared the way for the Trump administration to expand a fast-track deportation system that allows for the expedited removal of migrants living far from the border.

In a 2–1 ruling, a panel of the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit overturned a lower court decision that had blocked the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) from widening the scope of expedited removals.

The policy, first introduced nearly three decades ago, has traditionally been used to swiftly return migrants apprehended at or near the border. However, in January 2025, the administration extended its application to cover non-citizens detained anywhere in the United States who cannot demonstrate continuous residence of at least two years.

The move echoed a similar expansion introduced during the Trump administration in 2019, which was later rescinded under President Joe Biden.

The expansion was challenged in court by immigrant rights group Make the Road New York, which argued that the policy risked violating constitutional due process protections. US District Judge Jia Cobb had previously ruled against the policy, blocking its enforcement.

However, the appeals court disagreed. Writing for the majority, US Circuit Judge Justin Walker said the administration was entitled to expand expedited removal “to the maximum extent allowed by Congress”.

He noted that individuals placed in expedited removal are given notice and an opportunity to contest the decision, including by demonstrating continuous presence in the US for two years.

“At most, the district court’s findings show that Congress’s expedited screening system operates quickly and with practical constraints — features the statute itself contemplates,” he wrote. “They do not show that the challenged directives deprive aliens of a meaningful opportunity to be heard.”

US Circuit Judge Neomi Rao joined much of the majority opinion. Both judges were appointed by Donald Trump.

Dissenting, US Circuit Judge Robert Wilkins, appointed by former president Barack Obama, warned that the process risked being applied without adequate checks in the interior of the country.

He said migrants were being subjected to expedited removal without even being asked how long they had been in the US, calling the procedure “woefully inadequate”.

A statement from the Department of Homeland Security welcomed the ruling, with general counsel James Percival saying it “vindicated our decision to apply the law as written”.

Anand Balakrishnan, a lawyer for Make the Road New York at the American Civil Liberties Union, said the group was considering its next legal steps.

“The Trump administration’s push for fast-track deportations will subject people to an unfair and error-prone system,” he said. “This ruling undermines the fundamental principle that people receive due process when the government seeks to deport them.”

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