A federal judge in Washington, D.C., Jia Cobb, has temporarily blocked the expanded implementation of so-called “fast-track deportations” (expedited removal) pushed by Donald Trump’s administration. The measure, which restored a rapid deportation system without hearings, now faces serious legal challenges for violating migrants’ right to due process.
In her ruling, Judge Cobb emphasized that “prioritizing speed” in deporting migrants who were arrested far from the border, some of whom had been living in the U.S. for up to two years, “will inevitably lead the government to wrongfully deport people through this truncated process.” The policy, reinstated by Trump in January 2025, was also challenged by the ACLU and Make the Road New York for denying migrants essential legal protections.
The judge did not question the constitutionality of expedited removal itself, a mechanism historically used near the border for recent arrivals, but stressed that its expansion to undocumented residents within the country requires stronger due process guarantees under the Fifth Amendment. The Trump administration, meanwhile, has defended the measure as a lawful and necessary tool to meet its mass deportation goals.
What does this ruling mean for deportations and the legal system?
In the short term, the decision halts the expanded policy while courts deliberate further. This means undocumented migrants living in the interior of the U.S. will maintain access to basic legal proceedings and hearings, avoiding abrupt and irregular deportations.