Overview

• U.S. District Judge Jia Cobb issued a 48-page ruling halting DHS from using expedited removal nationwide for noncitizens present in the country for less than two years.
• She found the interior-focused process likely violates Fifth Amendment protections and called the government’s no-process position for illegal entrants a “truly startling argument.”
• The court emphasized it was not questioning the statute’s constitutionality at the border but said current procedures fall short for people with established ties inside the U.S.
• The injunction also blocks use of expedited removal against migrants granted humanitarian parole, building on Cobb’s earlier pause of a related parole rule.
• The administration sought a pause to prepare an appeal, which Cobb denied, as DHS criticized the ruling and the decision disrupts tactics such as courthouse arrests tied to mass-removal goals.