Judge blocks Trump's interior deportation expansion

U.S. District Judge Jia M. Cobb issued a preliminary injunction on Aug. 29, 2025. She sits on the U.S. District Court for the 🏛️District of Columbia and found the government likely violated migrants' Fifth Amendment due process rights by expanding expedited removal.

The Jan. 2025 policy from the Department of Homeland Security expanded expedited removal to noncitizens encountered anywhere in the United States if they can't prove at least two years' continuous presence. Under the rule, many people could be processed for deportation without seeing an immigration judge. The Federal Register notice was signed by Acting Secretary Benjamine C. Huffman on Jan. 21, 2025, and became effective Jan. 21, 2025 at 6:00 PM EST.

Advocates say the change would expose millions of migrants to fast-track expulsions. The expansion was implemented during the transition from the Biden to Trump administration, with Mayorkas departing Jan. 20, 2025 and Kristi Noem confirmed as DHS Secretary Jan. 25, 2025.

Immigrant-rights groups, including Make the Road 🗽New York and the American Civil Liberties Union, sued to block the policy. They documented cases where ICE agents arrested asylum seekers in or near immigration courts and then sought rapid expulsions under expedited removal.

The plaintiffs argued those practices showed a high risk of deporting people without meaningful hearings. Judge Cobb agreed and found the government's approach likely violated constitutional protections for people who've lived in the U.S. for extended periods.

The injunction pauses the policy's interior application nationwide while the lawsuit proceeds. The Justice Department said it will appeal the decision to the UCU.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit and may seek emergency relief.

The ruling protects migrants now, but the policy could resume if higher courts rule for the government. A similar expedited removal expansion during Trump's first term was challenged and restricted, with only 17 people actually removed under the expanded authority between Oct. 2020 and Jan. 2021.