Expedited Removal: Definition & Immigration Context, VisaTracker

What It Means

Expedited removal was created by the 1996 IIRIRA reforms and is codified at INA section 235(b)(1). It authorizes DHS officers (typically CBP officers or Border Patrol agents) to order the removal of noncitizens who are inadmissible under INA section 212(a)(6)(C) (fraud or misrepresentation) or section 212(a)(7) (lack of valid entry documents) without referral to an immigration judge. The initial statutory reach was limited to arriving aliens at ports of entry, but by regulation (69 Fed. Reg. 48,877) DHS expanded it to cover noncitizens apprehended within 100 miles of the border and within 14 days of entry, and a 2019 Federal Register notice purported to extend it to the full interior subject to the 2-year continuous physical presence limit in the statute. Expedited removal results in a 5-year bar on reentry under INA section 212(a)(9)(A)(i), compared with no such bar for voluntary return. Noncitizens subject to expedited removal who express a fear of return are referred to a USCIS asylum officer for a credible fear interview under INA section 235(b)(1)(B). Those who establish credible fear are placed in full INA 240 removal proceedings before an immigration judge where they can pursue asylum; those who do not are ordered removed, subject to limited review by an immigration judge under 8 CFR 1208.30(g)(2). Expedited removal dramatically reduces the average processing time for border cases from years (in INA 240 proceedings) to days, but has been the subject of extensive litigation over due process, credible fear standards, and geographic scope.