Expedited Removal is a way that officers from the Department of Homeland Security, (DHS) primarily U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) can order someone removed from the United States without taking them before and Immigration Judge. This is one of many “alternatives to removal proceedings” that the government can use to obtain an order of removal against a non-citizen while keeping them from seeing an immigration judge.
DHS defines Expedited \Removal as, “The statutory authority to order certain aliens removed from the United States without further hearing or interview, unless the alien indicates an intention to apply for asylum, or expresses a fear of persecution or torture if returned to his or her country.” The authority comes from Section 235(b) of the Immigration and Nationality Act. The Government and DHS justify the use of this form of removal by arguing that the need to secure the border and curb human smuggling outweighs the limited due process afforded those subject to expedited removal.
DHS is allowed to apply expedited removal to two general types of people. 1) Arriving Aliens: If a person seeks admission to the U.S. at a land, sea or air border/port, and they are not a U.S. citizen and do not have a green card, they are generally arriving aliens. 2) Any non-citizen who does not have a green card who has entered the U.S. without admission or parole (illegally) and is caught within 100 miles of an international border and within 14 days of their entry.
If these two types of people are caught by DHS and have no valid admission documents (visa, border crossing card, or green card), they have fraudulent admission documents, (fake green card, visa or other identity document) or falsely claims to be a U.S. citizen, then the DHS officers can detain and removal the person from the U.S., without sending them to see an immigration judge.
There are a few exceptions to these general parameters, and a few other cases where an alien may be subject to expedited removal that are not mentioned above. However, these two scenarios cover the overwhelming majority of people who are subject to expedited removal.
Even if DHS issues an expedited removal order against you, that does not mean that this is the end of the story, and you will definitely be removed from the U.S. If a person subject to expedited removal says to the DHS officers that they are afraid to return to their home country for whatever reason, the DHS officer must send the person to speak to an asylum officer. This is called a credible fear review. This process can take weeks to months, and the person may remain detained during the entire process. The good news is, if the asylum officer finds a person’s fear credible, then the person may be eligible for release from detention, and will likely be issued a notice to appear to see an immigration judge. If the fear is found not credible, then the person many be removed from the U.S. or can appeal that decision to an immigration judge.
The experienced immigration attorneys as Lasnetski Gihon Law have handled numerous cases where people are subjected to expedited removal. They can help you challenge the expedited removal order, seek asylum or credible fear review, request a stay of removal or seek release from detention. Call them today for a free consultation about your expedited removal case.