Federal Judge Puts Another Snag in Trump Admin's Deportation Efforts

A federal judge in Washington, D.C. on Sunday blocked most of a Trump administration rule that would have made it easier for the government to dismiss deportation appeals.

The policy would have amounted to a major overhaul of the process for illegal immigrants seeking to appeal their removal orders, Reuters reported.

U.S. District Judge Randolph ‌Moss in Washington, D.C., late on Sunday vacated, opens new tab the core part of a rule set to take effect on Monday that the U.S. Department of Justice's Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR) issued in a bid to revamp the appellate review process before the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA).
Moss, who was appointed by Democratic President Barack Obama, said the office adopted the rule without first providing an opportunity for notice and public comment in violation of the rulemaking requirements in the Administrative Procedure Act.
"Issues that are so fundamental to the rights of tens of thousands of individuals (and that ⁠will guide how organizations and lawyers present their claims to the BIA) ought to be considered and addressed before—rather than after—a rule takes effect," Moss wrote.
He vacated core provisions of the rule that would have cut the amount of time people have to file notices of appeal of an immigration judge's decision from 30 days to 10 and treated any issue not raised in that notice as waived.

Judge Moss argued that the Executive Office for Immigration Review failed to follow the required notice-and-comment procedures before instituting the policy, which violates the Administrative Procedure Act. The ruling keeps the existing appeals system in place as the lawsuit filed by several nonprofits proceeds.

The Administrative Procedure Act requires federal agencies to give the public notice of proposed rules or changes, explain their legal justification, and allow people time to submit comments before the changes take effect.

The rule would have made summary dismissal of appeals the Board of Immigration Appeals the default approach to adjudicating deportation cases. It was aimed at shortening the amount of time potential deportees would have had to contest their removal orders from 30 days to 10 days.

Federal Judge Randolph Moss has blocked the Trump administration’s move to cut the time illegal immigrants have to file an appeal from 30 days to 10, ruling that the government did not follow the proper process when issuing the rule.

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The Board of Immigration Appeals would dismiss most cases unless a majority of board members voted to take up an appeal on the merits within a short time window, meaning that in most cases, the outcome would be summary dismissal.

Immigrant rights groups argued that the rule would make it nearly impossible for deportees to challenge their cases in court. The Trump administration has not indicated whether it will appeal Moss’ ruling.

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