Washington, 30 August 2025 (dpa/MIA) - A judge at the US federal court in Washington has temporarily halted fast-track deportation proceedings for migrants, dealing a blow to President Donald Trump's rigorous deportation policy.

The right of those affected to a proper trial under the rule of law must be guaranteed, Judge Jia Cobb said in her ruling published on Friday, upholding a complaint filed by a migrant rights group.

In his inaugural address in January, Trump announced his intention to deport "millions and millions" of irregular migrants.

His administration has therefore extended an expedited deportation procedure, which until now was used mainly in border regions and in cases where migrants have been in the country for fewer than 14 days, to migrants throughout the country. 

Cobb criticized the government's procedure as "skimpy," NBC, NPR, CNN and other US media reported, and she referred to the right enshrined in the US constitution that individuals may not be deported from the US without first having had the opportunity to be heard.

This also applies to people who are in the country illegally, she added.

"By merely accusing you of entering unlawfully, the government would deprive you of any meaningful opportunity to disprove its allegations," Cobb said. "Fortunately, that is not the law."

The judge, appointed by Trump's predecessor Joe Biden, had already criticized the government's actions in a similar ruling in early August.

Mass deportations were one of Trump's key campaign promises before last year's election. Raids and arrests have been staged for public effect since he took office.