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President Trump’s first administration tried to implement a similarly sped-up process for removing unauthorized immigrants, but those efforts were hampered by federal courts.
- Jan. 21, 2025, 8:25 p.m. ET
The Trump administration on Tuesday expanded the powers that Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers have to swiftly remove some undocumented immigrants from the U.S., a move that could help President Trump carry out the large-scale deportation campaign he has promised.
The new policy, detailed in a notice posted online, makes it so the Department of Homeland Security can more quickly deport certain undocumented immigrants who, upon arrest, cannot prove they have been in the country longer than two years. Such sweeping powers — a process known as expedited removal, which allows unauthorized immigrants to be deported without court proceedings — have long been reserved primarily for the area near the southern border.
But the policy issued by the acting homeland security secretary, Benjamine C. Huffman, allows ICE officers to use it across the entirety of the United States.
“The effect of this change will be to enhance national security and public safety — while reducing government costs — by facilitating prompt immigration determinations,” the notice read.
Mr. Trump’s first administration tried to implement a similarly speedy nationwide process for deportations, but those efforts were challenged in federal court. The ensuing legal battle kept the rule from going into effect until late 2020, when a federal appeals court allowed the Homeland Security Department to move forward with expanded expedited removals while the lawsuit continued. The Biden administration rescinded the policy.
Like some of Mr. Trump’s other early actions around immigration, the rule could be met with another legal challenge.
