Faster Processing in Immigration Courts with 100 New Judges
According to data compiled by the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse (TRAC) at Syracuse University, immigration court proceedings appear to be moving faster in the 2023–2024 fiscal year. During the COVID-19 pandemic, immigration courts experienced a shortage of judges, causing a backlog that exceeded three million pending cases. Now that more than 100 new immigration judges have been added, the volume of completed cases has risen by about 50%. Observers are watching closely to see if this pace will continue.
In the first three months of the 2023–2024 fiscal year, about 200,000 cases were resolved, compared to around 132,000 in the same period a year earlier—an increase of nearly 50%. This represents an average of 60,000 completed cases per month, up from about 40,000 previously. If this trend continues, the total number of cases adjudicated in the 2023–2024 fiscal year could far surpass the 672,671 cases completed in 2022–2023.
Nevertheless, as of December 2023, the backlog in immigration courts stands at over 3.28 million pending cases, the highest level ever recorded. Whether the new judges can effectively reduce this backlog remains to be seen.
Among the approximately 200,000 cases resolved so far this fiscal year, about 35.1% ended with an order of removal or voluntary departure. Specifically, 63,953 individuals were ordered removed. The highest numbers came from nationals of Honduras (12,204), Guatemala (10,414), Mexico (8,325), Nicaragua (5,499), and Colombia (4,451). Fourteen Korean nationals were ordered removed, and six accepted voluntary departure. In removal order cases, only 15.9% of respondents were represented by attorneys.
By local jurisdiction, Harris County in Texas saw the most completed immigration cases this year, with 11,503, followed by Los Angeles County in California with 10,020 cases resolved. Miami-Dade County in Florida processed 5,484 cases, Queens County in New York handled 4,739, and Kings County in New York had 3,935 completions.
(Source: Kim Eunbyul)