A federal appeals court on Tuesday cleared the way for the Trump administration to expand a fast-track deportation process, allowing the expedited removal of immigrants living far from the border. The ruling by 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's (DHS) expansion of expedited removal.
Ruling overturns block on expanded expedited removal
The 2-1 decision reversed an August 2025 ruling by US District Judge Jia Cobb, who had blocked DHS from applying expedited removal to non-citizens apprehended anywhere in the US who could not prove two years of continuous presence. Judge Cobb argued the policy violated constitutional due process rights. However, the DC circuit disagreed, with Circuit Judge Justin Walker, a Trump appointee, authoring the majority opinion.
Walker wrote that the Trump administration was allowed to expand “expedited removal to the maximum extent allowed by Congress.” He noted that migrants receive notice of expedited removal proceedings and a chance to object, including by demonstrating two years of continuous presence. “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 stated.
Policy mirrors 2019 Trump administration move
The expedited removal process has been used for nearly three decades to quickly return migrants apprehended at the border. In January 2025, the Trump administration expanded its scope to cover non-citizens apprehended anywhere in the US who could not show two years of residence. This policy mirrored one adopted in 2019 that the Biden administration later rescinded.
The immigrant rights advocacy group Make the Road New York sued, leading to Judge Cobb's initial block. The DC circuit's ruling now allows DHS to proceed with the expansion nationwide.
Dissent warns of inadequate procedures
Circuit Judge Neomi Rao, also a Trump appointee, joined Walker's opinion in large part. Circuit Judge Robert Wilkins, an Obama appointee, dissented, arguing that subjecting migrants to expedited removal without even asking how long they have been in the US “is woefully inadequate for persons encountered in the interior of the country.”
James Percival, DHS’s general counsel, said in a statement that the ruling “vindicated our decision to apply the law as written.” Make the Road’s lawyers did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
