Make the Road New York v. Wolf

The American Civil Liberties Union, American Immigration Council, and Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP filed a federal lawsuit today challenging the Trump administration’s new rule that massively expands fast-track deportations without a fair legal process such as a court hearing or access to an attorney.

The expanded expedited removal rule took effect July 23 and targets immigrants nationwide who cannot prove they have been in the U.S. continuously for two years or more. Prior to the rule, expedited removal was limited to a 100-mile zone from the border; to those who arrived by sea; and to those who had been in the U.S. for 14 days or fewer.

“Hundreds of thousands of people living anywhere in the U.S. are at risk of being separated from their families and expelled from the country without any recourse. This is a dramatic — and illegal — escalation in the Trump administration’s attacks on immigrant communities,” said Anand Balakrishnan, an attorney with the ACLU’s Immigrants’ Rights Project.

The case was filed on behalf of Make the Road New York, LUPE (La Union del Pueblo Entero), and We Count!, organizations that serve immigrant communities.