Immigration attorney: Rapid deportations are a new facet of an old policy

In October, the US government began implementing an expansion of rapid deportations, in which undocumented immigrants may be removed from the country without a hearing before an immigration judge. While such deportations have been conducted for decades, the new policy expands who might be affected, including undocumented immigrants anywhere in the U.S. who cannot prove they have been in the country for two years or more. Priya Patel, an immigration attorney at Centro Legal de la Raza, said that while she has not seen Bay Area residents affected by the policy, its implementation only serves to exacerbate existing fears of crackdowns among immigrants.