New statistics show that the backlog of cases in US immigration courts has worsened, as the border crackdown pursued by the Trump administration continues. There were 617,527 pending immigration court cases at the end of July – the first time the figure went above 600,000. This information was revealed on Thursday, by the Syracuse University research center, Transactional Records Action Clearinghouse.
For years, growing caseloads have been a problem for the nation’s immigration court system, with reports of delays to cases lasting years, from lawyers and judges. But, the new figures have recorded a big jump this year, with around 540,000 such pending cases in January, when Donald Trump first assumed the Presidency.
San Francisco immigration court Judge, Dana Leigh Marks, who is also the president of the National Association of Immigration Judges, said that immigration judges are still overwhelmed by the case load, which is now at a higher level than seen before. Immigration courts are the first port of call in the US justice system for immigrants who are not immediately deported; as such an expedited process is only applicable to those caught close to the US border. Department of Homeland Security lawyers prosecute the cases, with defendants not entitled to legal assistance, although rulings can be appealed.
Judges from other areas of the country have been asked to temporarily sit in immigration courts near the US-Mexico border this year, and more judges have been hired. But the new figures suggest these moves have failed to prevent the backlog worsening.