By Melinda Rolls
The Trump administration has moved swiftly to carry out a series of executive orders on immigration that are intended to crack down on illegal immigration and secure the border. Those orders, though, may be more about instilling fear in immigrants to force them out of the country rather than using Immigration and Customs Enforcement to remove them.
That’s the take of Lauris Wren, clinical law professor at Hofstra University and director of its asylum clinic. She examined Trump’s immigration strategy during a talk at Hofstra’s Maurice A. Deane School of Law Feb. 25.
Expedited removals
Wren said she and other immigration attorneys are most concerned about the administration’s plan to expand the use of expedited removals. Expedited removal allows low-level immigration officers to rapidly deport undocumented non-citizens if they cannot prove they have been in the U.S. for more than two years. An exception is made for individuals who express fear of returning to their home country, granting them the right to determine their eligibility to apply for asylum in the U.S.
Wren said her concern lies in the rapid process, which may lead to unjustified deportations. Because of the swiftness of expedited removals without additional legal oversight, detainees may be unable to prove they do not meet the criteria for expedited removal.
“Any of these procedures where there is not traditional or other reliable oversight are very worrisome to civil right advocates,” Wren said.
Flourish graphic by Melinda Rolls/Long Island Advocate
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