A federal appeals court has handed President Donald Trump a major legal victory by allowing his administration to proceed with an expanded fast-track deportation policy targeting undocumented immigrants across the United States.
The ruling, delivered on June 23 by the US DC Circuit Court of Appeals, revives the administration’s efforts to broaden the use of “expedited removal,” a process that enables immigration authorities to deport certain individuals without a hearing before an immigration judge.
Under the decision, the administration can move forward with plans to quickly remove undocumented immigrants who are unable to demonstrate that they have continuously resided in the United States for at least two years.
The policy expansion had previously been blocked by a lower court after the administration announced the measure on January 21, 2025. Before the expansion, expedited removal generally applied only to migrants apprehended within 100 miles of a land border and within 14 days of entering the country.
The appeals court majority, consisting of Judges Justin Walker and Neomi Rao, ruled in favor of the administration, while Judge Robert Wilkins dissented.
In its decision, the court rejected arguments from challengers who contended that the expanded policy violated constitutional due process protections.
Reacting to the ruling, the Department of Homeland Security’s General Counsel, James Percival, described the judgment as a validation of the administration’s interpretation of immigration law. He argued that federal law permits expedited removal for individuals who entered the country unlawfully within the previous two years and said the government had previously applied a more limited interpretation of the statute.
Percival also highlighted the administration’s self-deportation initiative, which offers a $2,600 stipend to undocumented immigrants who voluntarily leave the country.
However, civil rights advocates condemned the decision, warning that the expanded use of expedited removal could deprive migrants of important legal safeguards.
Anand Balakrishnan, Senior Staff Attorney with the American Civil Liberties Union’s Immigrants’ Rights Project and lead counsel in the case, said the ruling weakens due process protections in deportation proceedings. He added that legal advocates are evaluating their next steps in response to the decision.