A federal judge has temporarily blocked rapid deportations of undocumented immigrants carried out by the Trump Administration since the magnate returned to the White House, agreeing with civil rights groups that denounced that the measure represents a violation of due process of law.
In January, Trump reestablished the “immediate expulsion” of immigrants, a policy that he already applied in his first term (2017-2021) and that allows quick deportation of undocumented people who cannot prove that they have been in the country for two consecutive years or more, without a hearing.
Judge Jia Cobb, of Washington DC, has issued a ruling in which she criticizes the measure, a pillar of the mass deportation campaign promised by Trump, believing that it “prioritizes speed” and “will inevitably lead the Government to deport people by mistake through this truncated process.”
The policy of rapid deportations was denounced by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), the main NGO in defense of immigrants in the US, on behalf of another pro-immigrant entity, Make The Road New Yorkwho asked to block its effect, to which the judge has agreed.
In the 48-page ruling, published Friday night, the judge says she does not question the constitutionality of the original policy of rapid deportations, which has been applied for a long time to deport immigrants near the southern border and who have only been in the United States for a few days. but its expansion.
Cobb notes that “in applying the statute to a large group of people living in the interior of the country and who have not previously been subject to rapid deportation, the Government must ensure due process,” the document indicates.
The complaint argued precisely that the measure violates the Fifth Amendment, which includes the right to a fair legal process, and the Immigration and Nationality and Administrative Procedure laws.
Cobb adds that, “in defending this meager process, the Administration is making a truly astonishing argument: that those who entered the country illegally are not entitled to a process under the Fifth Amendment, but must accept whatever grace Congress gives them.”
“If that were rightnot just undocumented non-citizens, we would all be at risk“, adds the judge.