Appeals court allows Trump to fast-track deportation process nationwide

A federal appeals court allowed the expansion of a fast-track deportation process on Tuesday, enabling the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to apply expedited removal to non-citizens residing far from the border. The US court of appeals for the District of Columbia circuit ruled 2-1 to overturn a previous decision made in August 2025 by a judge who had blocked the DHS's expansion of expedited removal criteria. For nearly three decades, this expedited removal process has been utilized to swiftly return migrants apprehended at the border. The ruling permits the application of this process to individuals who may have entered the country legally but overstayed their visas or otherwise violated immigration laws, regardless of their proximity to the border. This expansion is a significant shift from the traditional application of expedited removal, which was primarily focused on recent border crossers. The decision is expected to have widespread implications for immigration enforcement nationwide.