US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) may now deport migrants to countries other than their own with as little as a six-hour notice, even without guarantees of safety from the receiving nations, the Washington Post reported on Sunday.
According to the publication, ICE Acting Director Todd Lyons wrote a memo to ICE workers on Wednesday, saying that a recent Supreme Court decision cleared the way for the deportations to resume “immediately”, including to countries that have not provided “diplomatic assurances” of protection against torture or persecution.
In standard cases, deportees will receive 24 hours’ notice, but in “exigent circumstances”, removal may proceed after only six hours, the WaPo cited the memo as saying.
The policy marks a significant departure from previous practice, in which individuals were rarely sent to third countries.
Immigration lawyers warn the change could endanger thousands, including those previously deemed at risk if returned to their home countries.
“It puts thousands of lives at risk of persecution and torture,” said Trina Realmuto, head of the National Immigration Litigation Alliance, which is challenging the ruling in court.
Lyons’s guidance permits expedited removal based on assurances accepted by the US State Department.
‘Matters of life and death’
If no assurances exist, immigrants will still be deported unless they voice fear during the brief notification window.
Those who do will undergo screenings within 24 hours to assess eligibility for protection under US law and the Convention Against Torture, which the US ratified in 1994.
A Supreme Court decision on June 23 reversed a lower court’s block of the policy.
In dissent, Justice Sonia Sotomayor warned: “In matters of life and death, it is best to proceed with caution.”
Critics, including attorneys and immigrant advocates, argue that the procedures outlined in the memo do not provide adequate time or legal access for migrants to contest potentially dangerous removals.
Simon Sandoval-Moshenberg, lead counsel in a related case, said: “This is a category of people who understood themselves to be out of the woods.”
The Department of Homeland Security has yet to confirm how many may be affected by the new policy.
