Deportation is a complicated process — with lots of layers. As the Trump administration expands the number and scope of deportations – what does that mean in practice? NPR's Asma Khalid and Ximena Bustillo unpack how deportations are supposed to work — and why so many lawsuits have been filed saying court process has been sidestepped in recent cases.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy
Chapter 1: What promise did Donald Trump make regarding deportations?
Days before the 2024 election, speaking to an electrified crowd at Madison Square Garden, President Trump made a promise.
On day one, I will launch the largest deportation program in American history.
During this campaign speech, Trump railed against immigrants who come to the United States illegally, whom he described as criminals and gang members.
We will not be occupied. We will not be overrun. We will not be conquered.
And just hours after his inauguration, the president signed a flurry of sweeping executive orders declaring a national emergency at the southern border, suspending refugee resettlement, ending asylum programs, and expanding the pool of people who could be deported.
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Chapter 2: What actions did Trump take immediately after his inauguration?
You're going to be under arrest soon.
Chapter 3: How are pro-Palestinian activists being affected by deportations?
In March, federal immigration agents also began arresting people involved with pro-Palestinian activism on college campuses. One of them was Mahmoud Khalil, a graduate student and green card holder. His wife, Noor Abdullah, filmed his arrest as agents who refused to give their names handcuffed him and put him in an unmarked car. Yeah, they just like handcuffed him and took him.
I don't know what to do. Shh. Abdullah told NPR it took 38 hours for her to find out where her husband had been sent. I think that's probably the most terrifying thing that has ever happened to me. Within weeks, masked ICE agents arrested another graduate student.
Rumeysa Ozturk was studying at Tufts University on a valid visa and had co-written an op-ed criticizing the university's response to the war in Gaza. In this video provided by freelance journalist Daniel Bogoslaw, you can hear a bystander questioning the agents.
You want to take those masks off? Is this a kidnapping?
Chapter 4: What legal issues arise from deporting Kilmar Armando Abrego Garcia?
Meanwhile, agents were also targeting migrants the Trump administration alleged were gang members. One man from Maryland, Kilmar Armando Abrego Garcia, was deported to a prison in El Salvador. Despite the fact that an immigration judge had already ruled he could not be deported to El Salvador because he might face torture in his home country.
I think that's really chilling.
Simon Sandoval-Moschenberg, a lawyer for Abrego Garcia, says that even though the administration admits deporting him to El Salvador was a mistake, they're not taking action to bring him back to the United States.
They admit that they had no legal authority to remove him. And their defense in this case is that now that we've committed this egregious violation, the court has no power to order us to do anything about it.
But now, in fact, a judge has ruled that the Trump administration must take immediate steps to return Abrego Garcia by Monday at 11.59 p.m. Deportation in the United States usually involves a long, complicated legal process. But as Trump makes good on his campaign promises, immigrant rights advocates are worried he's steamrolling due process and First Amendment rights. Consider this.
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Chapter 5: What does the expansion of deportations mean in practice?
As the Trump administration expands the number and scope of deportations, what does that mean in practice? From NPR, I'm Asma Khalid.
This is Tanya Mosley, co-host of Fresh Air. You'll see your favorite actors, directors, and comedians on late night TV shows or YouTube. But what you get with Fresh Air is a deep dive. Spend some quality time with people like Billie Eilish, Questlove, Ariana Grande, Stephen Colbert, and so many more. We ask questions you won't hear asked anywhere else.
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It's Consider This from NPR. Deportation is a complicated process with lots of layers. We are going to try to unpack some of those layers and understand it a bit better with NPR's Ximena Bustillo. She covers immigration policy and she joins us now in the studio. Welcome to the show.
So you have been reporting on immigration for the last several months, and you've boiled down this deportation process into a number of different steps to help us understand how I would say a somewhat wonky process works. So what did you find?
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Chapter 6: Who is Ximena Bustillo and what is her role in this episode?
I've identified this process down to five steps. Being identified as deportable, being arrested, going through immigration court, receiving a final order of removal and ultimate removal. Keep in mind that process is individualized to each case and who, what, when, where, how someone is identified can drag on for years or be very quick.
Got it. So let's start with the first step you just mentioned. What does it mean to be identified as deportable?
Those at risk for arrest primarily include people without legal status because they may have entered the country illegally, overstayed a work or student visa, or violated the terms of their green card, including by committing a crime. But the government doesn't have to prove that you committed a crime to see you as removable. A good example of this could be those without work authorization.
There's about 8 million in this country.
So, Ximena, once someone is identified, then how does the government find them?
Homeland security investigations are expensive and time consuming. So they often rely on local law enforcement to report that they have arrested or identified someone without legal status. Then there's also what are called, quote, at large arrests. These are arrests conducted by ICE out in the field.
OK, so Ximena, from there you enter into a court system. And I want you to help us understand how immigration courts differ than other courts in our American legal system.
So to start, they're not in the judicial branch like all other courts in our legal system. They're housed within the executive under the Department of Justice. And those arrested do not get the right to a lawyer, but they can ask to find one. And they do get the chance to make their defense. During the setting, there's also an attorney on behalf of ICE who argues in favor of removal.
And then this is where things get more complicated. Immigration courts are currently backlogged about 4 million cases. I know. And people are being arrested faster than the courts can process their cases.
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