ICE set to resume expedited removal policy, as litigation continues

Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is set to resume a 2019 policy that expanded the definition of “expedited removal” to a broader scope of non-citizens who may be deported. The policy was halted by a court, but an appeals court lifted the injunction last month.

Key Points:

• Previously, expedited removal was only enforced against certain categories of noncitizens: those who are apprehended at designated airports; those who arrive by sea and have been in the U.S. for less than two years; and those who apprehended within 100 miles of a U.S. border within 14 days of entering by land.
• Under the 2019 policy, ICE will apply expedited removal throughout the country to individuals who have been present in the U.S. for less than two years, regardless of whether they entered by air, land or sea, and regardless of where they are apprehended.
• The lawsuit challenging the expanded expedited-removal policy will continue to work its way through the courts and those challenging the policy, including the American Immigration Council and the American Civil Liberties Union, are seeking a new injunction to stop the government from enforcing it.

Background: ICE issued the notice of the expanded expedited removal July 23, 2019. Four days later, a U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C. blocked the administUnration from implementing it. A federal appeals court reversed the lower court and the preliminary injunction was lifted last month, paving the way for ICE to implement the policy while the lawsuit proceeds.

This alert has been provided by the BAL U.S. Practice group. For additional information, please contact berryapplemanleiden@bal.com.

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