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1 1 (November 19, 2020)

handle is hein.crs/govdcsm0001 and id is 1 raw text is: %Fnw C~l rES .rh$e November 19, 2020 Pending Cases in U.S. Immigration Courts, FY2008-FY2020 Immigration court proceedings are adjudicated by the Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR), an agency within the Department of Justice (DOJ). They commence when the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) files a Form I-862 Notice to Appear (NTA) with the immigration court, thereby initiating removal proceedings against foreign nationals. Immigration Judges (IJs) then determine whether these individuals are removable or eligible for relief from removal (e.g., asylum). Since FY2008, the number of I-862 cases pending in immigration courts has increased about six-fold. In FY2020, pending cases reached an all-time high of more than 1.2 million (Figure 1). In addition to those pending cases, 310,627 other cases were administratively closed in FY2020. Administrative closure is a docket management practice that allows IJs to close cases temporarily, typically to prioritize cases that are enforcement priorities. Administratively closed cases are removed from the active court docket. This practice allows individuals the opportunity to have their applications for immigration relief resolved by other immigration agencies. Figure I. 1-862 Cases, FY2008-FY2020 Source: EOIR Workload and Adjudication Statistics. The backlog of cases has extended wait times for case completions. In FY2008, the average wait time for removal cases was 438 days. By FY2020, average wait times exceeded 800 days (Figure 2). Average wait refers to the number of days individuals in proceedings have already waited not the total time they will actually wait to have their cases completed. EOIR guidance explicitly designates detained individuals' removal cases as priorities for completion. Detained cases, therefore, have shorter completion times than non-detained cases. According to EOIR, in FY2019, the median case completion time (length of time before cases were resolved) for detained individuals was 46 days. Figure 2. Average Days Pending, All Cases, FY2008- FY2020 1110 ox M IN 643 $315 Source: Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse (TRAC) at Syracuse University. immgrtiN~ Cours There are 67 immigration courts nationwide, and some bear a disproportionate share of pending cases. Nine courts each have more than 50,000 pending cases; together, they are responsible for nearly 50% of FY2020 pending cases. Figure 3. Courts with 50,000 or More Pending Cases, FY2020 53.72~ ~ 54J% 77 ~ 6a~9~5 > 67,437 ~ &%313 ~ 74,3&8 ' Source: Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse (TRAC) at Syracuse University. to th acdog For several years, some observers have attributed the backlog to a shortage of IJs particularly after a DOJ hiring \\\\'\\ L N \ \I \N, \ \\ \ \ Q\\ \\\ \\\