US Courts Back Trump’s Tougher Immigration Measures

A federal appeals court in Washington, D.C., ruled that the Trump administration may broaden the “expedited removal” program, allowing rapid deportations of undocumented migrants nationwide without a prior immigration judge hearing. The decision overturns a lower‑court order that had limited the policy to a 160‑kilometre radius of the border and a 14‑day window after arrival.

In separate Supreme Court rulings, a 6‑3 vote affirmed the administration’s authority to end the Temporary Protected Status (TPS) program for more than a million residents from countries such as Haiti and Syria, and held that asylum seekers waiting on the Mexican side of the border are not deemed to have “arrived” in the United States. The Court’s opinion, written by Justice Samuel Alito, stated that courts lack jurisdiction to review the Secretary’s TPS designations. Advocates warned that the decisions could lead to mass deportations and increased deaths among vulnerable migrants.

Together, the rulings expand the federal government’s ability to restrict entry, limit judicial oversight, and potentially remove large numbers of migrants who previously enjoyed legal protection.