| Prosecutors Continue to Use Discretion in Closing Immigration Court Cases |
| (19 Mar 2015)
There has been no drop-off in the government's use of prosecutorial discretion (PD) as a basis to close cases and allow an individual to remain in this country, according to case-by-case Immigration Court records current through February 2015.
Since October 2011 (FY 2012), a total of 6.7 percent of all Immigration Court completions were PD closures. During January and February 2015, the rate of PD closures was even higher than the long term average. For the 28,703 cases recorded as closed during this two month period, a total of 2,389 or 8.3 percent were PD closures.
Among hearing locations with 100 or more cases closed during January - February 2015, the highest rates of PD closure were found in Tucson, Arizona (62.6%); Los Angeles, California (33.8%); Atlanta, Georgia (23.1%); Bloomington, Minnesota – BLM (19.4%); and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (18.1%). For details on the use of prosecutorial discretion among the busiest hearing locations, see: http://trac.syr.edu/immigration/reports/382/Many of TRAC's other free query tools -- which track new DHS filings, the handling of juvenile cases and much more -- have also been updated through February 2015. For an index to the full list of TRAC's immigration tools go to: http://trac.syr.edu/immigration/tools/TRAC is self-supporting and depends on foundation grants, individual contributions and subscription fees for the funding needed to obtain, analyze and publish the data we collect on the activities of the US Federal government. To help support TRAC's ongoing efforts, go to: http://trac.syr.edu/sponsor/ |
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