These immigration courts can crank out a deportation verdict in 30 seconds

ICE detention center.
(Image credit: John Moore/Getty Images)

When former President George W. Bush's administration saw a spike in arrests at America's southern border, he spearheaded Operation Streamline and opened a handful of fast-paced courts to clear a backlog of immigration trials.

The program still exists today, and can crank out eight deportation verdicts in as little as four minutes. That's about one verdict every 30 seconds — a rapid-fire pace that lawyers, and even one judge, say is probably too fast for defendants to understand, BuzzFeed News reports.

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Attorneys and activists say the system results in most migrants pleading guilty and being deported, likely without a clue what's happening. Lawyers who spoke to BuzzFeed News acknowledge how problematic this can seem — and so did one immigration judge. "I am aware that a person could probably make it through the proceedings without a thorough understanding of their rights and the court proceedings," U.S. District Court Judge Leslie Bowman said during one case.

But some defense attorneys say the quick pace is actually better than proceedings before Operation Streamline. Under the previous process, migrants often waited in detention for weeks or months before getting a trial; now, they're detained for less than 72 hours and sent on the first bus home. Read more at BuzzFeed News.

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Kathryn is a graduate of Syracuse University, with degrees in magazine journalism and information technology, along with hours to earn another degree after working at SU's independent paper The Daily Orange. She's currently recovering from a horse addiction while living in New York City, and likes to share her extremely dry sense of humor on Twitter.