A new Trump administration rule will expand ICE's power to deport certain undocumented immigrants without having a hearing in front of an immigration judge.
According to a notice filed in the Federal Register on Monday, the administration is set to expand the use of "expedited removal." The policy basically allows immigration officers to arrest and deport certain undocumented immigrants without a hearing.
The policy previously applied to two groups. First, those who entered the U.S. by land could be subject to expedited removal if they were arrested within 100 miles of that border and had been in the U.S. for less than two weeks. Second, undocumented immigrants anywhere in the U.S. who arrived by sea and had been in the U.S. for less than two years. The administration's rule expands the policy nationwide for all undocumented immigrants who have been in the country for less than two years.
According to the Migration Policy Institute, the change could result in 20,000 more people being placed in expedited removal every year, and estimates "about 297,000" are at risk of being deported without a hearing. The ACLU and the American Immigration Council have announced plans to sue the administration over the new rule.
Correction: An earlier version of this story misstated who was subject to deportation under the U.S.'s previous expedited removal policy. This story has been updated.
