ICE says illegal immigrants have ‘no less than 12 hours’ to challenge Alien Enemies deportations

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement says it gives illegal immigrants it wants to deport under President Trump’s expedited removal powers at least a half-day’s notice before putting them on planes.

That revelation was made in a court filing unsealed Thursday where a senior ICE official described the new procedures the agency adopted to give due process rights to the migrants Mr. Trump is ousting under the Alien Enemies Act.

Carlos Cisneros, an ICE assistant field office director in southern Texas, said deportation targets under the AEA are “given a reasonable amount of time, and no less than 12 hours, including the ability to make a telephone call, to indicate or express an intent to file a habeas petition.”

He said if they don’t mount a challenge within that time, ICE feels free to put them on planes, though the actual deportation, he said, can sometimes take “many more hours or days.”

Mr. Cisneros said if migrants do express a desire to challenge the deportation they have at least 24 hours to actually file a petition with a court.

He said if anything, those time frames are longer than what would occur in a deportation under normal immigration law.

Mr. Cisneros had said those details were law enforcement secrets and the government initially filed his statement under seal, but it was unsealed Thursday.

Immigrant rights advocates quickly provided it to other judges handling Alien Enemies Act deportation cases.

Activists have said tight timelines violate migrants’ rights.

It remains to be seen how federal judges will see the 12-hour minimum and whether it meets the standard the Supreme Court set earlier this year when it said AEA deportation targets must be given a “reasonable” amount of time to challenge their removals.

Judges in federal courtrooms from Colorado to New York to Texas have put holds on AEA deportations under their jurisdiction, saying they want more information from the government about the migrants’ rights.