Trump administration cannot expand rapid deportations, US appeals court rules

23/11/2025 12:23

A federal appeals court on Saturday declined to clear the way for U.S. President Donald Trump's administration to expand a fast-track deportation process to allow for the expedited removal of migrants who are living far away from the border.



A 2-1 panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit declined to put on hold the central part of a ruling by a lower-court judge who had found that the administration's policies violated the due process rights of migrants who could be apprehended anywhere in the U.S.



U.S. District Judge Jia Cobb in an Aug. 29 ruling sided with an immigrant rights group and blocked the U.S. Department of Homeland Security from enforcing policies that exposed migrants to the risk of rapid expulsion if the administration believed they had been in the country for less than two years.



The administration asked the D.C. Circuit to stay that ruling while it appealed.



But U.S. Circuit Judges Patricia Millett and J. Michelle Childs said the administration was unlikely to succeed in showing its systems and procedures adequately protected migrants' due process rights under the U.S. Constitution's Fifth Amendment.