WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 25th January, 2020) A 21-state coalition urged a US appellate court to uphold a lower court injunction blocking a Trump administration rule to expedite deportations, claiming the process denies immigrants an opportunity to have their cases heard in court, according to an amicus brief announced by New York State Attorney General Letitia James on Friday.
"Expedited removal is a fast-tracked process to deport immigrants that generally does not allow for access to legal representation, witnesses, or a meaningful opportunity to present evidence and defenses," James said in a release about the amicus brief.
In September 2019, a US Federal district court issued a preliminary injunction preventing the Trump administration rule from going into effect, citing an earlier amicus brief by the same 21-state group, the release said.
The latest filing targets the Trump administration appeal to a higher court in an attempt to keep the injunction in place, the release explained.
"The expedited removal process denies basic and necessary legal protections to immigrants, which has resulted in wrongful deportations, unnecessary family separations, and has had chilling effects on communities throughout the country," James said in the release.
Expedited removal is part of a Trump administration effort to crack down on illegal immigration, a key theme of the president's 2016 campaign.
States joining New York in the coalition are: California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia and Washington. The nation's capital - Washington, DC - is also part of the coalition.
