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Huge Immigration Caseload07-29-08 | News

Huge Immigration Caseload

Immigration courts nationwide are overloaded. Last fiscal year, judges heard 334,600 cases, up from 254,500 in 2000. During the same period, the number of judges increased to 220 from 207. Cases are also becoming more difficult as laws change and new regulations are written, making it harder for judges to complete cases quickly.

The number of foreigners landing in Los Angeles Immigration Court has surged in recent years, while the number of judges has remained about the same, causing crushing caseloads and lengthy delays. Expanded immigration enforcement, including the ongoing search for illegal immigrants in county jails, is causing much of the rise, according to judges, attorneys and experts.

Los Angeles immigration judges heard 27,200 cases last fiscal year, up from about 17,800 in 2000. In the last fiscal year alone, the number of immigration cases rose nearly 40 percent. Today, 23 judges are assigned to Immigration Court, just two more than in 2000.

On a recent day in Los Angeles Immigration Court, one judge had 44 cases on the docket. As a result, cases can drag on for years. “There are no doubt many conscientious, dedicated and thorough immigration courts across the country,” one federal appellate judge wrote in a 2006 asylum case. “Unfortunately, their hard work is overshadowed by the significantly increasing rate at which adjudication lacking in reason, logic and effort from other immigration courts is reaching the federal circuits.”

In addition, there are too few attorneys. Los Angeles, about 45 government attorneys rotate through Immigration Court, depending on other enforcement needs. To ease the numbers, the federal government processes some cases without going to court. For example, if someone has previously been ordered deported and then returns to the United States, agents simply reinstate the order and deport the illegal immigrant again.