Federal Appeals Court Permits Nationwide Expansion of Expedited Deportations
The ruling removes a key geographic constraint on ICE's fast-track removal authority, potentially affecting millions of undocumented individuals who have resided in the U.S. for less than two years.
A federal appeals court has ruled that the Trump administration may proceed with expanding expedited removal authority to cover the entire United States, according to a report published by CBS News on June 23, 2026. The decision allows Immigration and Customs Enforcement to apply fast-track deportation procedures — which bypass standard immigration court hearings — to undocumented individuals nationwide, rather than limiting the process to those apprehended within 100 miles of the border.
Under existing statute, 8 U.S.C. § 1225(b)(1), the Department of Homeland Security holds authority to designate which classes of undocumented individuals are subject to expedited removal. The law limits expedited removal to individuals who cannot demonstrate two years of continuous presence in the United States. The Trump administration's expansion directive, issued through DHS, sought to apply this authority nationwide rather than in the border zone where expedited removal had previously been concentrated in practice.
Challengers had argued in federal district court that the expansion exceeded DHS's statutory authority and violated due process protections. The appeals court's decision to allow the policy to move forward while litigation continues represents a procedural ruling on the administration's likelihood of success on the merits and the balance of equities — factors courts weigh when issuing or lifting injunctions. The specific appellate court issuing the ruling and the case docket number were not specified in the CBS News report; the full opinion would be available through PACER, the federal courts' public electronic records system.
ICE processed approximately 271,484 deportations in fiscal year 2024, according to ICE's annual Enforcement and Removal Operations report. The administration has stated that expanding expedited removal will reduce backlogs in immigration courts, which the Executive Office for Immigration Review reported held more than 3.7 million pending cases as of early 2026. Critics, including the American Civil Liberties Union, have contended in court filings that the expansion increases the risk of wrongful removal for individuals with lawful status or valid legal claims.
Several material facts remain unknown from publicly available sources as of this report's publication date: the precise appellate circuit that issued the ruling, the names of the plaintiff organizations or individuals who brought the challenge, and whether the court issued a written opinion or an administrative order. Those details would be contained in the court's docket, accessible via PACER under the relevant case number, and in any published opinion posted to the appellate court's official website.