Congress mandates 15-day deportation deadline, compressing asylum rights
H.R. 4711 — REMOVE Act · Filed by Troy Nehls (R-TX) · 3 cosponsors · Introduced Jul 23, 2025 · Reported out
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What it does
This bill amends immigration law to require the Attorney General to start removal proceedings immediately after ICE files a Notice to Appear with immigration court, and to complete all removal proceedings within 15 days of commencement. For aliens convicted of deportable offenses, proceedings must begin as soon as possible after conviction. The bill overrides existing procedural timelines and gives the Attorney General broad authority to issue regulations and guidance to meet the 15-day deadline.
Why we flagged it
The bill's operative mechanism is a mandatory 15-day removal deadline and broad regulatory authority for the Attorney General to override existing procedural safeguards. This is functionally an enforcement-speed mandate, not a procedural clarification.
What the text implies
- The 15-day deadline may render statutory asylum protections (INA § 208) practically inaccessible, since asylum adjudication typically requires more time for evidence gathering and legal representation.
- The override of § 208(d)(5)(A) is buried in a bracketed '[NOTWITHSTANDING]' clause and is not explicitly named; readers must cross-reference the statute to understand what procedural rule is being suspended.
- The bill grants the Attorney General unilateral authority to 'take all actions' including promulgating regulations—a broad delegation that may allow circumvention of judicial review or notice-and-comment rulemaking.
- Aliens convicted of deportable offenses face expedited proceedings 'as soon as possible after conviction,' potentially before appellate rights are exhausted or before conviction is final.
Section numbers refer to the bill text the analysis read — linked under Primary records below.
Who it affects
The 15-day removal deadline severely compresses the time available for aliens to obtain legal counsel, prepare defenses, gather evidence, and exercise statutory rights (including asylum claims under § 208). Ordinary people facing removal—including asylum seekers and those with valid legal defenses—lose procedural protections and meaningful opportunity to be heard. The override of § 208(d)(5)(A) (asylum procedures) suggests asylum processing is being subordinated to speed.
Named in the bill
Attorney General, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), Immigration Court, Immigration and Nationality Act (INA), Section 239(d), Section 237(a), Section 208(d)(5)(A)
Where it stands
3 cosponsors: 3 Republicans.
- Jul 23, 2025 — Introduced · Congress.gov: “Introduced in House”
- Jul 23, 2025 — Referred to House Committee on the Judiciary · Congress.gov: “Referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary”
- Nov 18, 2025 — Markup held in committee · Congress.gov: “Committee Consideration and Mark-up Session Held”
- Nov 20, 2025 — Reported out of committee · Congress.gov: “Ordered to be Reported (Amended) by the Yeas and Nays: 14 - 9”
Dates and quoted wording are Congress.gov's action record; the timeline shows status changes, not every procedural step.
Money around this bill
1 lobbying clients named this bill on 1 disclosure filings across 1 quarter, Dec 2025 to Dec 2025. Those filings disclosed $10,000 in lobbying spend. A filing names 8 bills on average, so that figure is what each filing reported, not a share belonging to this bill.
More lobbying clients named this bill than 0% of bills with at least one filing.
Troy Nehls, the sponsor, reported $202,300 in PAC receipts in the 2026 cycle.
- National Immigration Law Center (nilc) — $10,000 on 1 filing
Lobbying Disclosure Act filings through Jan 14, 2026. A filing shows who paid to lobby on a bill it names, not what changed.
How this was measured
Analysis — Quorum's AI read the bill text published by Congress.gov (1,208 characters) on Jul 20, 2026. Section numbers in the findings refer to that text, linked below; transparency and hidden-provision scores are compared against the median of 16,222 analysed bills.
Status and sponsors — Congress.gov's bill record — actions, committee referrals and cosponsors — loaded nightly. The timeline shows status changes, not every procedural action.
Money — Senate Lobbying Disclosure Act filings whose specific-issue field names this bill for quarters ending Dec 2025 to Dec 2025. A filing's amount is reported whole beside the median number of bills a filing names; it is never divided across them. PAC receipts are FEC-reported contributions to the sponsor's candidate committee in the 2026 cycle.
As of — lobbying records through Jan 14, 2026 · page rendered 2026-10-20.
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