March 24, 1998

Update on Expedited Removals

Background

The Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 (IIRIRA) created a new, formal process for deportation called expedited removal. This process was established by Congress to quickly remove certain inadmissible aliens from the United States, including those who arrive at ports of entry and illegally attempt to gain admission with no entry documents or by using counterfeit, altered or otherwise fraudulent or improper documents. Under the new law, these individuals can be removed by an INS inspector in a period of days or weeks, streamlining the old exclusion process, which took months or even years. The U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) began implementing the expedited removal provisions of IIRIRA on April 1, 1997.

The vast majority of people who are found inadmissible when they arrive at a U.S. port of entry are not placed in expedited removal. For those people subject to the expedited removal proceeding, experienced INS inspectors review their cases. If the inspectors find no deliberate fraudulent intent or other serious violation, the individuals are generally allowed to withdraw their application for admission and depart the United States. Usually, these individuals are not prohibited from applying for a future, legal entry. When fraudulent intent is indicated, the inspector may issue a removal order, and this order has the same weight as one issued by an immigration judge. Before the removal order is issued, the decision must be reviewed by a senior-level supervisory immigration inspector. People removed from the United States under expedited removal are barred from re-entry for a period of five years, but can apply for a waiver.

Only a very small percentage of people who are subject to expedited removal are asylum-seekers. INS is committed to protecting the rights of aliens fleeing persecution and torture. No alien can be expeditiously removed from the United States until they are read a sworn statement and asked three specific questions concerning whether they have a concern or fear of being returned to their home country. Any alien who, in response to these questions, indicates an intent to apply for asylum or a fear of persecution is referred for an interview with an INS asylum officer. INS inspectors err on the side of caution, and refer any questionable cases to asylum officers. INS inspectors use not only verbal indications of a fear of persecution but also use non-verbal indications such as shaking, perspiration, sweating, hysteria and even silence.

Prior to implementing expedited removal, INS developed extensive, detailed regulations and procedures which go far beyond the statutory requirements to ensure fair and consistent application of the law. These regulations, which were developed following public comment and input from various immigrant, legal and community-

based groups, and the statute as enacted by Congress form the framework under which INS administers the expedited removals process.

Preliminary Data

INS is developing automated data systems for tracking the various aspects of the expedited removal process, which include actions and decisions by INS inspectors, asylum officers and district directors, as well as actions by immigration judges who work for the Executive Office of Immigration Review (EOIR). In addition, INS gathers and compiles statistics from various existing databases as well as manual reports from ports of entry in order to monitor the program's effectiveness during implementation.

Initially, INS was only able to capture partial, selected expedited removal data from certain major land and air ports of entry. Beginning in August 1997, INS began capturing what it considers reliable information on the total expedited removal activity nationwide. Based on this information, here are approximate data regarding nationwide expedited removal activities during the six months of operation spanning August 1, 1997, to January 31, 1998:

During the six-month period, more than 100 million aliens applied for admission to the United States at ports of entry.

Of those, approximately 300,000 (three-tenths of 1 percent) were found inadmissible.

Of those 300,000 inadmissible aliens, approximately 240,000 (80 percent) were not admitted or had their cases referred to an immigration judge.

The remaining 60,000 were inadmissible for reasons which made them subject to expedited removal. Of those, 61 percent were encountered at southern land borders, 31 percent at northern land borders and 8 percent at airports.

Of those 60,000 aliens subject to expedited removal, about 29,000 (48 percent) were allowed to withdraw their application for admission and depart the United States. The remainder were placed in expedited removal. The withdrawal rate was approximately 26 percent at southern land ports, 92 percent at northern land ports and 39 percent at airports.

Of the approximately 31,000 aliens placed in expedited removal at all ports of entry, about 1,300 expressed some fear of being returned and were referred by INS inspectors for a credible fear interview with a specially trained asylum officer. The 1,300 figure is less than 5 percent of the total number of people placed in expedited removal, and about one-half of 1 percent of the total number of aliens who were inadmissible. For airports only, about 17 percent of the arriving passengers in expedited removal were referred to an asylum officer for a credible fear interview.

About 82 percent of the total number of people referred to, and interviewed by, INS asylum officers met the credible fear standard. They were taken out of the expedited removal process for a hearing before an immigration judge.

Of the approximately 1,300 aliens given credible fear interviews, 18 percent were from Sri Lanka, 15 percent were from China. The remainder were from 83 other countries.

Approximately 29,000 people were removed through expedited removal during the six-month period. This number represents about 10 percent of the total number of aliens found inadmissible during the same period of time.

Of those removed, 91 percent were Mexican nationals. The next highest countries of origin were Jamaica, Canada, Ecuador and the Dominican Republic. They each represent less than 1 percent of those removed through expedited removal.

Monitoring and Oversight

INS is committed to ensuring that all districts implement the appropriate expedited removal procedures at all ports of entry in full compliance with the statute, accompanying regulations and field guidance.

• INS Headquarters officials conduct weekly quality assurance reviews and contact field offices frequently in order to identify and correct any problems found in the inspection, detention and asylum processes.
• In addition, headquarters officials conduct periodic field visits to major ports of entry to observe and review operations and ensure they are consistent with applicable procedures.
• Whenever necessary, additional field guidance is provided to clarify issues uncovered during the field visits and case reviews.
• Earlier this year, INS districts received expanded field guidance on issues such as treatment of juveniles subject to expedited removal, parole from detention for people found to have a credible fear, and guidance on withdrawal of application for admission.

Training

All INS immigration officers who conduct expedited removal proceedings have been trained in how to implement the new statutory provisions and regulations.

INS inspectors must successfully complete a 14-week basic training program and a one-year field training and probationary period.

All asylum officers undergo a four-week basic training course in preparation for adjudicating asylum applications and a one-year field training and probationary period. The training includes, among other topics, asylum law, current country conditions and interviewing skills, including techniques for interviewing individuals who may be survivors of torture. After initial training, asylum officers continue to receive ongoing training in these areas. The INS asylum program recently completed a successful intensive pilot program which provided experienced asylum officers with advanced training on interviewing survivors of torture. Journeyman training is now being planned in this subject for all asylum officers.

All immigration officers have received training in the provisions of IIRIRA, including expedited removal.

Both inspectors and asylum officers have also received specialized training in the expedited removal statute, regulations and implementing procedures. Asylum officers also receive specialized training in the credible fear legal standard and procedures.

INS asylum officers have also begun receiving specialized training on handling asylum claims made by individuals who may have been victims of torture.

INS headquarters will continue to conduct additional support training at field offices and ports of entry, as necessary.

Asylum Claims - Ensuring Fairness

In its implementation of the expedited removal provision of the new law, INS is taking steps far beyond what is required in the statute and ensuring that aliens affected by expedited removal are treated fairly and that their rights are protected in the following ways:

INS conducts credible fear interviews in detention centers rather than in airports, allowing people at least 48 hours, and generally more, to rest and consult with someone before the credible fear interview.

Although not required by the statute, INS relies exclusively on its specially trained asylum officer corps to conduct non-adversarial credible fear interviews, thus ensuring that interviews are conducted by the officers who are the most thoroughly prepared and experienced in asylum law, in country conditions abroad, and in proper asylum interviewing procedures and techniques.

INS ensures that all people subject to expedited removal are asked whether they have a fear of returning to their home country and are given notice of the opportunity to speak confidentially with another officer about their fear.

INS requires mandatory supervisory review of the decisions of both secondary inspectors and asylum officers before those decisions take effect.

When applicants for asylum leave secondary inspection for a credible fear interview, INS provides them with further information about the credible fear process and a list, updated quarterly, of local pro bono service providers and their telephone numbers.

People found to meet the credible fear standard are placed in removal proceedings before an immigration judge, to whom they may apply not only for asylum, but for other forms of relief as well.

--INS--

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