Clinton signs IIRIRA creating expedited removal and modern immigration court system

President Clinton signed the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act, creating expedited removal — a fast-track deportation process with no automatic right to an immigration judge hearing. The law built the modern immigration court system under EOIR as an executive branch adjudicatory office within DOJ. People at or near the border who could not establish credible fear of persecution could now be deported within hours.