Expedited removal from the USA

September 30, 2026: Expedited removal is a process by which low-level immigration officers can summarily remove certain noncitizens from the United States without a hearing before an immigration judge. Undocumented immigrants placed in expedited removal proceedings are entitled to access the asylum system if they express fear of persecution, torture, or of returning to their home country.

The U.S. government has expanded the application of the expedited removal process to the full scope permitted by law. From June 2020 through March 2022, and again in January 2025 to the present, immigration officers have been authorized to apply it to:

Any noncitizen 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 noncitizen 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.

Once an immigration officer determines that a noncitizen is subject to expedited removal, that same officer orders the noncitizen removed. Unlike other removal orders, an expedited removal order cannot normally be appealed and carries a five-year reentry bar in most circumstances.

Reinstatement of Removal

A similar, but different, summary removal process known as “reinstatement of removal” applies to individuals who are encountered after having been previously deported, and then reenter without inspection. For such noncitizens, an immigration officer may immediately reinstate their prior removal order wherever and whenever they are encountered.

Erroneous Deportations

There are few checks on the authority of immigration officers to place noncitizens in expedited removal proceedings. In essence, the law permits a low-level immigration officer to serve both as prosecutor (charged with enforcing the law) and judge (rendering a final decision on the case). Generally, the entire process consists of a single interview with the inspecting officer while the noncitizen is detained, so there is little or no opportunity to consult with an attorney or to gather any evidence that might prevent deportation.

Lack of Judicial Review

Individuals placed in expedited removal generally have no right to challenge their deportation in federal court, thanks to jurisdiction-stripping provisions in the 1996 law which created the process. This means that even where an immigration officer acted unlawfully in issuing an order of expedited removal, a noncitizen is severely restricted in their ability to challenge that decision. Individuals may only bring a lawsuit challenging their expedited removal order if they are a lawful permanent resident, or someone already determined to be a refugee or granted asylum, who has been wrongfully subject to expedited removal. In 2020, the Supreme Court upheld this law, finding that it did not violate the right to habeas corpus or due process.

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