The U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s recent decision to expand expedited removal to include individuals found anywhere in the country within two years of their entry is “a direct affront to due process,” ABA President Judy Perry Martinez wrote in a letter Monday.
In the letter to Acting DHS Secretary Kevin McAleenan, Martinez said the expansion of the summary procedure—which was announced in a notice in July—would increase the number of individuals removed from the United States without first having the opportunity to seek counsel from a lawyer or review from an impartial adjudicator.
