Biden Rolls Back Trump Expansion of Expedited Removal

To be published and effective on Monday, Mar. 21, 2022 - Rescission of the Notice of July 23, 2019, Designating Aliens for Expedited Removal

"This Notice rescinds the July 23, 2019 Notice, Designating Aliens for Expedited Removal, which expanded to the maximum extent permitted by the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) the application of expedited removal procedures to noncitizens not already covered by previous designations. The INA expressly authorizes the application of expedited removal procedures to noncitizens “arriving in the United States,” while also authorizing the Secretary of Homeland Security to extend (by designation) such procedures to certain other categories of noncitizens present in the United States. The INA permits the Secretary, in her or his sole and unreviewable discretion, to modify any such designations at any time. By rescinding only the designation of the class of noncitizens covered by the July 23, 2019 Notice, this Notice leaves in effect the prior discretionary designations that have, for over two decades, extended expedited removal to additional categories of noncitizens. ... The Department believes that expedited removal is best focused as a border enforcement tool on recent entrants encountered in close proximity to the border or its functional equivalent (e.g., air and land ports of entry), rather than on individuals apprehended throughout the United States without geographical limitation, who may have developed significant ties to the community. ... Retaining the expanded expedited removal authority would require time- and fact-intensive training for all current officers, agents, and supervisors that would detract from multiple new initiatives presently being introduced to the workforce to better serve enforcement priority mission areas. Additionally, as the use of expanded expedited removal would involve complex new challenges for the ICE workforce, it would come with increased risk of otherwise avoidable legal challenges to the agency’s enforcement actions. The fact that the expanded expedited removal authority was used so rarely by ICE officers during the approximately one year that it was available to them reflects the operational complexities and limited utility that it presented in practice. ... (1) The Notice titled Designating Aliens for Expedited Removal, 84 FR 35409 (July 23, 2019), is hereby rescinded, effective [Monday, Mar. 21, 2022.] (2) With the exception of the July 23, 2019 Notice rescinded above, this Rescission Notice does not supersede, abrogate, amend, or modify any of the previous designations under INA 235(b)(1)(A)(iii), 8 U.S.C. 1225(b)(1)(A)(iii). See 82 FR 4902 (Jan. 17, 2017); 69 FR 48877 (Aug. 11, 2004); 67 FR 68924 (Nov. 13, 2002). They shall remain in full force and effect in accordance with their respective terms."