BREAKING: Biden REVERSES Trump’s expanded ‘expedited removal’ which meant any migrant in the US under two years could be immediately deported – while fears grow of massive border influx when COVID restrictions end

  • The July 23, 2019 rule targeted immigrants across the nation who could not prove they had been in the U.S. continuously for two years or more
  • Prior to expansion, the rule applied to a 100-mile zone from the border, to those who had arrived by sea or to those who had been in the U.S. 14 days or fewer 
  • A DHS withdrawal notice said that the Trump-era rule had been used so infrequently due to ‘operational complexities and limited utility 
  • Currently most people who arrive at the border are immediately deported under Title 42, a CDC coronavirus public health order 
  • The U.S. could be just hours away from another wave of mass migration if Biden lifts Title 42, with 170,000 waiting on Mexican side of border 

The Biden administration on Friday reversed a Trump-era expansion of ‘expedited removal,’ whereby some illegal immigrants can be rapidly deported without an appearance before a judge.

The July 23, 2019 rule targeted immigrants across the nation who could not prove they had been in the U.S. continuously for two years or more. Prior to the rule’s expansion, the 2004 expedited removal policy only applied to a 100-mile zone from the border, to those who had arrived by sea or to those who had been in the U.S. 14 days or fewer.

In announcing the reversal of the expansion, a Department of Homeland Security (DHS) withdrawal notice said that the Trump-era rule had been used so infrequently due to ‘operational complexities and limited utility. The notice said that more aggressive use of the rule could subject Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to more legal challenges.

The expanded expedited removal authority was rarely used while it was in effect. Still, immigration activists celebrated the formal recission of the policy, which ACLU Immigrants’ Rights Project direct Omar Jadwat said ‘thumbs its nose at due process.’

In October DHS had paused use of the expanded expedited removal while it reviewed the policy. The policy had been only been used several times in Biden’s first year in office – from Jan. 20 to late August, ICE officials only deported four immigrants under it, Buzzfeed reported. 

Currently most people who arrive at the border are immediately deported under Title 42, a Centers for Disease Control (CDC) coronavirus public health order. Under the Biden administration, border agents have reported 2.3 million migrant arrests, 63 percent of whom were turned away under Title 42.

Most single adult migrants who are not expelled under Title 42 are sent to immigrant detention facilities or deported under expedited removal. Families too can be deported under expedited removal if they do not pass initial asylum screenings or if border officials determine they did not ask for asylum.

The U.S. could be just hours away from another wave of mass migration if the Biden administration lifts Title 42, according to a new report.

More than 170,000 migrants are reportedly waiting on the Mexican-side of the U.S.-Mexico border to cross and claim asylum should the policy be lifted.

DHS is reportedly considering calling on volunteers for reinforcement at the southern border, fearing an onslaught of migrants that would far outweigh its resources.