There are essential differences between a regular deportation process and an accelerated deportation, highlighting the possibility that in the first an immigrant can have a hearing with a judge and in the second he would not have that opportunity to defend himself, according to the rules of President Donald Trump's government.

"When we think about deportation, we usually imagine that someone is going to go to court, first they give them a document, they explain why the government believes that the person should be deported; they give them a [hearing] date, a time to go see a judge, time to get a lawyer many times and time to think about what defense they are going to use to prevent deportation," said lawyer Harold Solís, co-legal director of Make the Road New York, in the 'El Diario' podcast. Without Limits'.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) can restart expedited deportations nationwide at any time, following the decision by the Court of Appeals for the Washington, D.C. Circuit.

The main concern of experts is that immigrants will not have the right to defend themselves, even if they have been living in the United States for more than two years, but cannot prove it immediately.

Solís explained that in a regular deportation process, in addition to legally defending himself, an immigrant's lawyer can explore options for that person to stay in the United States, such as a request for asylum, even some type of special visa or being part of a humanitarian or 'parole' program.

“In some cases the person may already have status here in the United States and in itself it is like a mistake that the person should not even be in the deportation process,” added the expert. “In the normal [deportation] process at least it provides certain opportunities for the person to be heard and have an opportunity to defend themselves, and many times it takes time.”

And what about expedited deportation?

Expedited deportation was integrated by Congress in 1996 as part of the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act, focused on immigrants detained for irregular entry into the United States, and with less than two years in the country.

Although the conditions for processing immigrants under accelerated deportation seem clear, since its creation there have been different interpretations that are integrated into ICE's operating rules.

During Joe Biden's government, the accelerated deportation guidelines contemplated two aspects: it was implemented for less than 160 miles from the border and people had to have lived in the country for less than two years.

Under President Trump's government, the policy expanded nationally and there is no possibility for an immigrant to defend himself before a judge.

"The accelerated deportation process is totally different from all that. [...] There is often an ICE officer, the same one who initially arrested the individual, who will decide if the person is going to be deported. [...] There is no neutral person, so to speak, who is involved in the case who will decide if the person can be deported," warns Solís.

An immigrant detained under this policy can be processed expeditiously, in less than 14 days, to be removed from the United States.

"As the name implies, it is fast, very fast many times. Expedited deportation can take a few days, perhaps even the same day that the person is detained and arrested, and the person can be deported almost immediately, there are no longer many chances of being able to seek other avenues of relief in the case," Solís lamented. “On top of that, there is no way to technically appeal an expedited deportation decision.”

Due to the risks of accelerated deportation, Solís recommended that undocumented immigrants seek advice from a lawyer.