Expedited removal has been a process used for close to 30 years, however, its scope has been expanded under the current administration. Expedited removal is originally a process in which low-level immigration officers can remove certain non-citizens from the United States without a hearing before an immigration judge. The expedited removal process was first created in 1996 as a part of the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act. When first implemented it applied to non-citizens who arrived at ports of entry and then expanded to some non-citizens who entered without being admitted or without inspection and who have not been continuously present in the United States for at least 2 years. The expedited removal statute is meant for people who lack proper entry documents or who have sought entry or are seeking entry through fraud or misrepresentation.
Since its implementation in 1996 the statute has undergone several changes. While originally it was limited to non-citizens arriving at ports of entry, it has since expanded. In 2002 it was expanded to apply to non-citizens entering by sea without inspection and in 2004 expanded to include land entries as well. For a decade after the 2004 change, there was nothing new with the expedited removal statute. Since 2020, the government has implemented two expansions of the statue to the full extent permitted by law, both of which occurred during the Trump administration. From June 2020 through March 2022 and beginning again in January of 2025, immigration officers were authorized to apply the expedited removal statute to:
Any non-citizen who arrived at a port of entry, at any time, and is determined to be inadmissible for fraud or misrepresentation or lacking proper entry documents and any non-citizen who entered without inspection (by land or sea), was never admitted or paroled, is encountered anywhere in the United States, and cannot prove that they have been physically present in the United States for the two years preceding the immigration officer’s determination that they are inadmissible for fraud or misrepresentation or lack of proper entry documents.
Someone who is subject to expedited removal may be protected if they express a fear of persecution or torture in their home country or indicate an intention to apply for asylum, in which case they are referred for a credible fear interview with an asylum officer. If the officer determines that the fear is credible, the individual may be placed in regular removal proceedings rather than immediately removed. Unlike other removal orders, the expedited removal orders generally cannot be appealed, and may carry a reentry bar, commonly five years, depending on the circumstances.