By James Williams,
Editor-in-Chief

Immigration debates in America are usually loud, visual, and political—border walls, caravans, cages. But what rarely makes the headlines is how, for nearly 30 years, the U.S. government has been deporting people without ever giving them a day in court. No judge. No trial. Just gone.

From Bill Clinton to Joe Biden, four presidents—two Democrats, two Republicans—have expanded a quiet system of deportation that bypasses basic due process. It’s not just a legal shortcut. It’s become the standard.


Clinton: The Architect

It was President Bill Clinton who set the stage in 1996. His signature on the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act (IIRIRA) gave federal agents a powerful tool: expedited removal. Anyone caught near the border who couldn’t prove two years of U.S. residency could be deported—on the spot—by an agent, not a judge.

More than 12 million removals and “returns” happened on his watch. Most were quick turnarounds at the border. But Clinton created the playbook every president would follow.


Obama: The Enforcer

President Barack Obama deported more people than anyone in U.S. history—over 3 million formal removals. By 2012, 75% of deportations didn’t involve a court hearing.

His administration relied heavily on stipulated removal orders—documents detainees signed agreeing to deportation without legal counsel or a judge. He also approved Operation Streamline, where migrants were herded into mass court hearings, sentenced, and deported in under an hour.

For many, immigration enforcement under Obama was clinical, quiet, and just as devastating.


Trump: The Hammer

President Donald Trump took those tools and aimed them squarely at the interior. In 2019, he expanded expedited removal nationwide. Now, undocumented people anywhere in the U.S.—not just at the border—could be deported if they’d been here under two years.

Trump’s ICE targeted courthouses, workplaces, and homes. Legal immigrants attending routine check-ins were arrested. People showing up to court were detained before their cases could be heard.

In 2025, during his second term, ICE deported 37,660 people in a single month, and daily arrest quotas were tripled to 3,000. The share of people deported without a criminal record jumped from 7% to 23%. Even American allies have been caught in the dragnet.


Biden: The Bureaucrat

President Joe Biden promised a more humane system—but kept the machinery running. After ending Title 42, his administration processed over 20,000 expedited removals per month. In 2024, total deportations hit 271,000—more than any year under Trump.

His “Dedicated Docket” for families sounded like reform. In reality, it was a fast-track system that pushed children and parents through rushed hearings, often without legal help.

Asylum seekers—fleeing violence, war, and poverty—have been sent back after brief, high-pressure “credible fear” interviews with no chance to appeal.


One System. Four Presidents. No Due Process.

Clinton
Expedited Removal (IIRIRA)
Set the legal foundation

Obama : Stipulated Orders, Streamline 3M+ deported, most without court.

Trump: Interior ER, Court Arrests Daily quotas, mass deportation escalated.

Biden: Credible Fear, Fast-Track Dockets Record non-court removals continue.


The Constitution promises due process to “all persons” on American soil—not just citizens. But for millions, immigration enforcement has turned that promise into a technicality.

Four presidents. Two parties. One pattern. The people may change, the politics may shift—but the process remains the same.

And for too many, there never was one.

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The Town Crier,  is a Rapid Response news blog that is written by James Williams and created in collaboration with ChatGPT. For research assistance and content editing. The image of the Town Crier was created by ChatGPT.