Immigration judges completed double the number of cases during the first quarter of 2024 compared with the same period a year ago, according to data collected by the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse (TRAC). The data and research organization from Syracuse University found that almost 200,000 cases were completed between October and December 2023, compared to the 132,000 cases during the same time the year prior. The increase in completions is crucial as immigration courts have faced a backlog that has grown by a million cases over the past year, reports Courthouse News Service. At the end of December 2023, 3,287,058 active cases were pending before the immigration courts. While the hiring of new immigration judges accelerated during the first three years of the Biden administration, judges have still been swamped trying to keep up with the flow of incoming cases. Each of the 682 judges on the bench faces an average of 4,500 cases per judge. TRAC says the number of people with pending immigration cases is larger than the population of Chicago.
The number of inadmissible immigrants arriving at ports of entry either along the border or at an international airport has increased substantially in recent years, as has the percentage of those allowed into the U.S. under the parole authority. When a border agent decides that someone is not admissible, it does not necessarily mean that a person has a criminal background or is a public safety risk. It often means that the individual simply does not have a current visa or other required documents. However, even if a border agent finds that a person is inadmissible, the law may allow that person to enter the country. Under parole, the government permits noncitizens to enter the country lawfully on a temporary basis, potentially to receive work authorization. The most common ports of entry for inadmissible immigrants are not necessarily along the U.S.-Mexico border, contrary to popular belief. For instance, during the fiscal year of 2023, Office of Field Operations officials at U.S. ports of entry recorded the most inadmissible immigrants —94,852 — at Miami International Airport, followed by 78,781 at San Ysidro, Calif. and 75,230 at Brownsville, Tex.
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