Donald Trump's administration won a major judicial victory after a federal appeals court authorized the expansion of so-called expedited deportations, a mechanism that allows certain immigrants to be expelled without a hearing before an immigration judge, Reuters reported.

The decision was issued by the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals, which overturned a previous court order and allowed the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to apply an expanded version of the expedited removal process. The measure affects irregular immigrants who are anywhere in the country and who cannot prove that they have lived continuously in the United States for at least two years.

Until now, this procedure was mainly used for people detained near the border and shortly after entering the country.

What changes with the ruling

The policy promoted by the Trump administration expands the scope of rapid deportations nationwide. Under this scheme, immigration agents can initiate an expedited removal process without the need for the case to go through an immigration court.

The court majority concluded that Congress gave the government the power to apply this mechanism to the extent permitted by law.

Judge Justin Walker, author of the majority opinion, held that immigrants receive notice of the process and have the opportunity to demonstrate that they have remained in the United States for two years or more.

“The district court's findings do not demonstrate that the challenged directives deprive aliens of a meaningful opportunity to be heard,” Walker wrote.

The decision was upheld by Justice Neomi Rao, while Justice Robert Wilkins cast a dissenting opinion.

Pro-immigrant organizations question the measure

Immigrant rights groups criticized the ruling and warned that it could increase the risk of errors in deportation proceedings.

Anand Balakrishnan, a lawyer for the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), said the measure could affect the legal protections of people subject to removal.

“The Trump administration's insistence on expedited deportations will subject people to an unfair and error-prone system,” he said.

For his part, DHS legal advisor James Percival welcomed the decision and assured that the court “vindicated” the administration's position.