Judge says DHS can't use fast deportation on Biden parole migrants

A federal judge ruled Friday that the Department of Homeland Security can’t use a speedy process known as “expedited removal” to oust millions of migrants the Biden administration allowed in using a legally iffy parole program.

Judge Jia Cobb, a Biden appointee to the court in Washington, said the fast deportation law generally applies to new arrivals without legal status and can’t cover the parolees, who were welcomed by the government and who have put down roots.

“If the Congress that was so concerned about abuse of the parole system had created a solution by which the Executive could summarily deport parolees using expedited removal, you would think it would have noted as much,” she wrote.

Her decision is a major blow to President Trump as he tries to boost deportation numbers.

Expedited removal lets illegal immigrants be deported without a full immigration court process, abbreviating the challenges and appeals a migrant can bring.

Judge Cobb said it can result in “more wrongful removals.”

The case goes to the heart of the legal questions about parole, which experts describe as a timeout from the usual immigration process.

It’s supposed to be used on a case-by-case basis for urgent humanitarian needs or when the government gets a significant benefit from letting a migrant enter despite lacking a legal visa. Classic cases involve a foreigner who needs to serve as a witness, or someone who needs urgent medical treatment available in the U.S.

Under previous presidents, parole was granted to several thousand people a year.

President Biden may have admitted as many as 3 million, according to estimates from the Center for Immigration Studies.

The law says that when parole ends, the migrant is to be returned to the status before the parole was granted.

Trump officials say that should mean they’re figuratively transported back to the border where they entered and thus are considered new arrivals who can face expedited removal.

Judge Cobb rejected that.

Plus, she said, Homeland Security cut too many procedural corners, making the decision to use expedited removal “arbitrary and capricious.”