Immigration NewsTaco August 3, 2015

Immigration judges are burning out faster than prison wardens and hospital doctors

*The backlog is so big that non-priority cases have been pushed back as far as November of 2019. In all the heated rhetoric about immigration this fact goes unnoticed and “no distinction is made between immigrants with legitimate claims and criminals.” I’m pretty sure you won’t hear about this in the  coming presidential debates. VL

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By Rachel Glickhouse, Quartz

Across the United States, tens of thousands of immigrants are facing years of waiting for their day in court. With court staff in short supply and enforcement on the rise, there are close to half a million cases pending nationwide, according to the latest data from Syracuse University’s Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse (TRAC).

[pullquote] [tweet_dis]Since 2007, the immigration court backlog jumped by nearly 160%.[/tweet_dis][/pullquote]

But [tweet_dis]there are only 250 immigration judges in the US, and this year, 100 judges are up for retirement.[/tweet_dis]

 Since 2007, the immigration court backlog jumped by nearly 160% while the number of immigration judges rose by just 15%. There are efforts to boost the ranks: in May, spokesman for the Executive Office for Immigration Review Louis Ruffino told the Los Angeles Times that the US government is working to hire 68 new judges.
But the government hasn’t been able to employ staff quickly enough, putting a major strain on the existing system.

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