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1 [1] (September 18, 2026)

handle is hein.crs/govevhm0001 and id is 1 raw text is: Expedited Removal of Aliens: An Introduction Updated September 18, 2026 Aliens who do not meet certain requirements to enter or be present in the United States may be subject to removal. Federal immigration laws establish different removal processes for different categories of aliens. Most aliens apprehended within the interior of the United States are subject to standard removal proceedings under 8 U.SC. § 1229a. There is a separate expedited removal process for certain arriving aliens and aliens who entered the United States without inspection. This process, created by Congress in 1996, allows for an immigration officer to order the removal of certain aliens without further hearing or review. Since enactment, this streamlined process generally has been limited in its application to cover individuals encountered at ports of entry or in areas near the border; however, the application of this process has been expanded over the years. The most recent expansion occurred in 2025, when President Trump directed the Secretary of Homeland Security to take all appropriate action to exercise authority delegated by Congress to designate additional classes of aliens subject to expedited removal. Pursuant to that authority, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) in 2025 announced it was expanding the scope of who would be subject to expedited removal to the fullest extent authorized by Congress to include certain aliens apprehended anywhere in the United States who have been present in the country for less than two years. This In Focus provides a brief introduction to the expedited removal framework and discusses recent efforts by the executive branch to utilize its delegated authority. For a more detailed discussion, see CRS Report R45314, Expedited Removalc of liens: Leal F)rmework, by Hillel R. Smith (2019). Statutory Framework and Implementation Congress enacted the expedited removal process as part of the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996. Under a provision found in 8 U.S.C. § 1225(b)(1), DHS is generally directed to summarily remove aliens arriving at a designated U.S. port of entry without further hearing or review if they are found to be inadmissible either because (1) they lack valid entry documents or (2) they tried to procure their admission through fraud or misrepresentation. Section 1225(b)(1)(A)(iii) also authorizes the Secretary of Homeland Security (formerly the Attorney General) to extend application of expedited removal to certain other aliens inadmissible on the same grounds if they (1) were not admitted or paroled into the United States by immigration authorities and (2) cannot establish at least two years' continuous physical presence in the United States at the time of apprehension. The statute specifies that the designation of additional classes of aliens subject to expedited removal shall be in the sole and unreviewable discretion of the [Secretary] and may be modified at any time. With limited exceptions, this discretionary designation is not subject to judicial review. Prior to 2025, immigration authorities implemented expedited removal mainly for three overarching categories of aliens who lack valid entry documents or attempted to falsely procure admission: (1) arriv ing aliens (defined by regulation as aliens arriving at U.S. ports of entry); (2) aliens who entered the United States by sea without being admitted or paroled into the United States, and who have been in the country less than two years; and (3) aliens apprehended within 100 miles of the U.S. border within 14 days of entering the country, and who have not been admitted or paroled. Most aliens subject to expedited removal have thus been apprehended either at a designated port of entry or near the international border when trying to enter, or shortly after entering, the United States between ports of entry. In 2025, DHS announced it would employ expedited removal to the full degree authorized by § 1225(b)(1) to cover aliens who have not been admitted or paroled and who have been in the United States less than two years. Following a 2025 legal challenge, a U.S. District Court judge in the District of Columbia stayed the expansion, ruling that applying the streamlined expedited removal procedures to this category of aliens likely violates their constitutional right to due process. In 2026, the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals vacated that decision, allowing DHS to implement the expansion of expedited removal while litigation continues in the district court. Exceptions to Expedited Removal An alien subject to expedited removal typically will be ordered removed without further hearing or the ability to contest a removal determination. Congress established exceptions for certain categories of aliens. Credible Fear Determinations The statute provides that an alien otherwise subject to expedited removal who expresses an intent to apply for asylum or a fear of persecution if returned to a particular country is entitled to administrative review of that claim before being removed. Section 1225(b)(1) instructs that the examining immigration officer must refer the alien for an interview with an asylum officer to determine whether the alien has a credible fear of persecution or torture. A credible fear determination is a screening process that evaluates whether an alien might qualify for one of three forms of relief from removal: asyl um, withholding of removal, and protection under the Convention Against Torture (CAT). Among these, asylum is the only form of relief that gives the alien an avenue to adjust to lawxful permanent resident (LPR) status. The credible fear determination is not intended to fully assess the alien's claims, but only to determine whether the