Courthouse crackdown

At courthouses across the United States, Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents in late May and early June were showing up to arrest and deport immigrants leaving hearings or check-ins with immigration judges. The Arizona Mirror reported that agents outside a Phoenix courthouse on May 20, for example, apprehended multiple immigrants who believed a judge had just dismissed their cases.

An official with the American Immigration Lawyers Association told ABC News his organization had tracked 19 cities where ICE agents were reported at immigration courts.

As part of President Donald Trump’s deportation push, ICE officers are placing the arrested immigrants into “expedited removal.” The fast-tracked process permits ICE to deport illegal immigrants without a court hearing if they don’t have authorization to remain in the country and have resided in the country for less than two years.

In order to legally qualify for expedited removal, migrants need to have their immigration cases dismissed. Thus, government lawyers across the country are asking judges to dismiss cases—but reportedly without informing migrants that a dismissal (typically seen as a positive development for the defendant) could result in an arrest.

Critics of the tactic argue the arrests will deter immigrants from showing up for scheduled court hearings. But federal officials say the arrests conserve resources and prevent migrants from disappearing after leaving court.

Expedited removal enables the Trump administration to bypass the mounting backlog of almost 4 million cases in immigration court. “The Biden administration issued a record number of expedited removal orders,” noted Kathleen Bush-Joseph, a lawyer and policy analyst for the Migration Policy Institute. But Biden only fast-tracked removals within 100 miles of the U.S.-Mexico border. The Trump administration expanded the scope of expedited removal to include the entire country.

Many migrants who entered the United States under the Biden-era CBP One app at ports of entry and were paroled into the country for up to two years may also qualify for the streamlined deportation process. Immigrants placed into expedited removal can still request a hearing with an asylum officer if they fear persecution in their home country.

Rick Friedman / AFP via Getty Images

Student visa suspension

The U.S. State Department temporarily halted student visa interviews with foreign students on May 27, a suspension that allows the administration to expand protocols for scrutinizing applicants’ social media posts. The pause reportedly will not prevent applicants from completing any already scheduled appointments.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in March the administration had revoked some 300 visas, many of them given to students. The Trump administration has also tried to stop Harvard University, specifically, from enrolling international students, but a federal judge temporarily blocked the effort. Critics say the crackdown could hurt university budgets, but the administration argues stricter vetting will ensure applicants “do not pose a security or safety risk to the United States.” —Bekah McCallum