New York, NY: Under an expanded Department of Homeland Security (DHS) expedited removal policy, any individual anywhere in the country can be deported in as quickly as a day and with no due process. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials will be able to utilize the policy once they complete a mandatory training course. Originally announced in July 2019, the policy greatly expanded the scope of expedited removal, which previously only applied within 100 miles of the border. According to John Sandweg, the former acting head of ICE in the Obama administration, ICE could deport thousands of immigrants under the new policy.
In response to the expansion of expedited removal, Murad Awawdeh and Rovika Rajkishun, Interim Co-Executive Directors of the New York Immigration Coalition, issued the following statement. “Desperate to boost his flagging poll numbers, Trump is supercharging his deportation machine via an unwarranted and unprecedented expansion of deportation authority for ICE agents with no due process protections for immigrants. The very same agency responsible for forced hysterectomies, unlawful shootings, and preventable deaths from COVID-19 outbreaks in their facilities can now terrorize immigrants anywhere in the country. This callous and dangerous initiative is designed to play to Trump’s base and punish sanctuary cities at the expense of the public safety of immigrants and every single New Yorker. As we have in the past, New York must stand united against ICE’s lawlessness and the Trump administration’s xenophobia and our elected leaders must protect and defend every New Yorker.”
Given ICE’s expanded expedited removal policy, service providers and community members can visit the New York Immigration Coalition’s Know Your Rights resource page. The New York State New Americans Hotline is available to anyone with immigration questions or impacted by ICE raids at 1-800-566-7636. Anyone impacted by a raid or fears being arrested as a result of these operations needs to connect with an attorney as soon as possible.
