WASHINGTON—The backlog of immigration court cases awaiting review and wait times for cases to be heard jumped to all-time highs in the last year, according to a new report.
Although more than 40 new immigration judges were hired in the last year, budget restrictions may prevent the government from hiring enough judges to handle the caseload.
More than 275,000 immigration cases awaited review between May 2010 and May 2011, according to the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse, which uses data from the Department of Justice. The backlog has increased by almost 50 percent since 2008.
Beth Wherlin from the American Immigration Council attributes the dramatic rise to increased enforcement. In 2009, the Department of Homeland Security initiated a program to empower designated state and local law enforcement officers to enforce federal immigration laws.
“Now people are being pulled over for traffic violations and ending up in the immigration system,” she said.
The long line for a hearing has produced long waiting periods. The average immigrant waits 482 days for his or her case to be heard, a 7 percent increase from last year.
The delay can cause significant hardship for immigrants, Wherlin said. All are subject to detention, and while some detainees have criminal backgrounds, many are long-term residents who pose no flight risk but can’t afford to post a bond, Wherlin said. She also noted that asylum seekers can be detained for years, through no fault of their own and without access to legal counsel.
But Bob Dane, a spokesman for the Federation for American Immigration Reform, said the delay allows immigrants to “game the system.” Although illegal immigrants can volunteer for expedited removal, they rarely do so, he said.
Dane’s organization advocates for tougher immigration policy and opposes amnesty for illegal immigrants.
“Why would you [leave voluntarily] when you keep hearing that amnesty is right around the corner if you wait it out?” he said. “They will do anything to drag out the process.”
Despite hiring a record 44 judges last year, the report also attributes the long wait to a recent hiring freeze for new immigration judges brought on budget issues.
Juan Osuna, director of the Executive Office of Immigration Review—the division of the Department of Justice responsible for immigration court administration—testified before Congress in May that about 10 judges retire every year, so any positive effects of the hiring boon will soon bust.
The American Bar Association also called for more immigration judges, as well as one dedicated law clerk per judge to help speed the process. In 2010, a typical immigration judge decided on average 1,145 cases per year. The ABA would like to see that number fall to 700.
There are currently 235 immigration judges in 59 courts nationwide.
Both Wherlin and Dane agreed that a lack of judges contributes to the backlog, but neither believes it is the source of the problem.
“It’s a byproduct of too many people, too lax a system and not enough barriers to entry,” Dane said.
Dane proposed a more streamlined process for review and tougher penalties for illegal entry. Wherlin also called for a streamlined process, but said that ultimately the government should stop “pushing people through the removal process who shouldn’t have been there in the first place.
California tops the list for number of pending cases—65,000—and longest wait periods—660 days, on average.