WASHINGTON — The American Civil Liberties Union, ACLU of the District of Columbia, and the New York Civil Liberties Union today sued the Trump administration over its plan to massively expand fast-track deportations without a fair legal process. The case was filed on behalf of Make the Road New York, which serves immigrant communities.
The expanded expedited removal rule was announced yesterday, and mimics a similar policy pushed by the first Trump administration, which the ACLU and Make the Road New York also challenged.
“The Trump administration wants to use this illegal policy to fuel its mass deportation agenda and rip communities apart. Expanding expedited removal would give Trump a cheat code to circumvent due process and the Constitution, and we are again here to fight it,” said Anand Balakrishnan, senior staff attorney with the ACLU’s Immigrants’ Rights Project and lead counsel on this case.
“People living in communities all across the United States are at risk of being separated from their families and expelled from the country with no legal recourse. This is an attack on communities, our Constitution, and fundamental American values,” he adds.
The policy targets immigrants nationwide who cannot prove they have been in the country continuously for two years or more. Due process requires they get a fair hearing, which this rule strips from them. Under this rule, immigrants who have been integrated into and contribute to our communities would get less due process contesting their deportation than they would contesting a traffic ticket.
The lawsuit cites violations of the Fifth Amendment’s due process clause, the Immigration and Nationality Act, and the Administrative Procedure Act.
“Everyone in this country is entitled to due process — it is one of the core tenets of our government. To fast track the deportation of people who have entered this country to find safety and build a life for themselves and their families, without even a chance to see a judge, will only sow fear in immigrant communities and increase the terror of being separated from loved ones forever. The strategy of the Trump administration seems to be to bombard immigrants and their allies with heinous policies so as to overwhelm — we will not let this happen. We are prepared to fight back against this illegal policy and to uphold the rule of law,” said Arlenis Morel, co-executive director of Make the Road New York.
“President Trump’s decision to fast track deportations is chaotic, unfair, and inhumane. We hope the courts will order President Trump to do his constitutional duty to ‘take Care that the Laws be faithfully executed,’” said Arthur Spitzer, senior counsel at the ACLU of the District of Columbia.
“President Trump’s draconian decision to fast track mass deportations violates hundreds of thousands’ fundamental right to a fair day in court,” said Donna Lieberman, executive director of the New York Civil Liberties Union. “This cruel, extremist effort will undoubtedly leave children without parents, families without their breadwinners, businesses without workers, and immigrant communities in shambles. Immigrants deserve sensible, humane policies that carve fair pathways to citizenship — not Trump making horrendous, illegal attacks on their communities.”
The lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C.
The complaint can be found here.