Trump administration's restriction on swiftly expelling certain migrants challenged and enforcement halted by the court
In a significant ruling, U.S. District Judge Jia Cobb has blocked the Trump administration's policy of using expedited removal to rapidly deport migrants who were legally admitted into the U.S. through humanitarian parole programs. This decision, made on August 2, 2025, could potentially limit ICE's aggressive deportation efforts that targeted parolees admitted at official ports of entry under humanitarian grounds.
The expedited removal policy, as described earlier, involves lawyers with the Department of Homeland Security moving to dismiss cases of migrants in immigration proceedings, and ICE agents waiting outside the doors to detain them. However, Judge Cobb's order, if not appealed by the Trump administration, will remain in place until the lawsuit concludes.
The lawsuit challenging the government's justification for placing certain migrants into sped-up deportation proceedings was filed by the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights and other civic groups. The judge's order states that the government has not only closed off paths for new arrivals but has also changed the game for parolees already in the country, restricting their ability to seek immigration relief and subjecting them to summary removal despite statutory law prohibiting the Executive Branch from doing so.
This ruling could have far-reaching implications. Some migrants, who have been temporarily allowed into the country for humanitarian reasons, have found themselves back in their home countries within days due to the expedited removal process. Judge Cobb wrote that the question at the heart of the case is whether parolees who escaped oppression will have the chance to plead their case within a system of rules, or if they will be summarily removed from a country that may look increasingly like the countries from which they tried to escape.
Meanwhile, in a separate development, Illinois has become the first state to require student mental health screenings. This move aims to address the growing concern about mental health issues among students, particularly in the wake of the pandemic.
Elsewhere, a manhunt is currently intensifying for the suspect in the Montana bar mass shooting. The Bureau of Prisons has moved Ghislaine Maxwell to a prison camp in Texas.
It is expected that the Justice Department will appeal this ruling, and the case will likely continue to be a topic of debate and legal action in the coming months. The current status is that the expedited removal policy for migrants admitted under humanitarian parole is currently enjoined by the court, pending further appeal and litigation outcomes.
The expedited removal policy, which targets migrants admitted at official ports of entry under humanitarian grounds, could lead to more legal challenges in politics, as the Justice Department has announced its intention to appeal Judge Cobb's ruling. Meanwhile, the health sector is also under scrutiny, with the implementation of student mental health screenings in Illinois being the first of its kind, as a response to growing concerns about mental health issues among students, particularly amid the pandemic.
