Too Fast for Fairness: “Expedited Removal” and the Family Expedited Removal Management Program - Expedited removal

National expansion of expedited removal programming will mean that thousands of people arriving at the southern border seeking safety in the United States would be forced to wear an ankle monitor and rushed through asylum proceedings – with little or no access to counsel — in a matter of days or weeks, only to be deported back to danger. [...] This explainer: • Describes what the Family Expedited Removal Program is; • Describes how FERM undermines basic due process and asylum rights, including: no meaningful access to counsel; rushed timelines making it impossible for people to prepare and present their claims; particular harm to Indigenous families; and the blanket application of ankle monitors to people seeking asylum, destabilizing f. [...] FERM is unsustainable for legal service providers and private attorneys, who have to suspend other casework to engage in the rapid response the FERM program requires in every case. [...] The blanket application of ankle monitors and surveillance to people seeking asylum destabilizes people’s mental health and makes it harder to navigate the legal system. [...] Asylum seekers are less likely to fully disclose the harm they suffered when they are in such restrictive conditions because of the extent of the trauma they have endured.