Immigration

Immigrants Pay $2 Billion in ICE Bonds Since FY 2017

2024-02-08 Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) often requires immigrants to pay a bond to ensure they follow all requirements set by ICE before an immigrant can be released from detention. New data through December 2023 show ICE has collected over $2 billion in bond money.
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Too Few Immigration Attorneys: Average Representation Rates Fall from 65% To 30%

2024-01-24 There is another serious shortage beyond too few judges in Immigration Court. There are also too few immigration attorneys. The proportion of immigrants able to find an attorney to represent them in removal proceedings has dropped precipitously. This varies by location with representation rates now ranging from a high of 56 percent in Hawaii down to a low of just 14 percent in Courts based in Colorado.

A Ten Year Look at Inadmissible Migrants and Paroled Migrants at Ports of Entry

2024-01-12 In the past two years, more noncitizens are going through ports of entry when they donÕt already have documentation allowing them entry into the U.S. An increasing number of these have been allowed to enter lawfully on a temporary basis through parole. Contrary to popular understanding, ports of entry that receive inadmissible migrants are not necessarily located along the U.S.-Mexico border. Many arrive at U.S. airports.

Immigration Court Backlog Tops 3 Million; Each Judge Assigned 4,500 Cases

2023-12-18 The Immigration Court backlog has grown by a million cases in the past 12 months. Hiring more Immigration Judges and accelerating case closures per judge have not kept pace with the flow ofincoming cases.
TRAC Immigration Tools
The First Things
A TRAC data tool provides instant result on your queries. Here are a few important things to know:
  • Work from bottom to up, from left to right.
  • Build your queries using the 3 dropdown menus in sequence. (Follow the 1, 2, and 3).
  • The graph is the result of your query. Mouseover reveals the details of data. The graph display can be adjusted using the controls next to it.
  • There are additional radio buttons or dropdown menus around the graph, which can be used for tuning the display (for instance, to switch between Number and Percent or to choose a fiscal year).
Looking for Immigration Data?TRAC has a tool for it
For the past 15 years, TRAC has been a valuable source of immigration data. TRAC's reports and statistics are often cited in news articles, used in scholarly and legal publications, and referred to by government officials. TRAC's data tools and applications are accessed by thousands of people each month and TRAC reports are sent to people across the US and around the world. This report provides a brief introduction to our immigration data and tools. We hope that this is helpful for those of you who are new to TRAC's work, and benefit more experienced users as well.
Featured App: Asylum Backlog
Learn to use TRAC tools by an example.
In Chicago's Immigration Court, how many Ukrainians have filed applications for asylum and were not yet represented?
To follow along, click on the icon on the right to launch the app. Use the 3 dropdown menus to construct the query. Notice the information above the graph, as it is very useful to show the selected dimensions.

Click to open the first dropdown, choose Immigration Court, then choose Chicago from the table underneath the dropdown menu. Then, make selections on the second and third dropdown menu as shown in the snapshot. The tables under the dropdown menu contain statistical data. For instance, from the third table, we can see the total persons from Ukraine who have filed asylum applications with the Chicago Immigration Court and the number who are Not Represented.

Knowing how to build the queries and read the result is a powerful skill. If you have questions or comments, please contact us. We would love to hear from you.
Featured App: Immigration Court Backlog
How many Venezuelans are in the Immigration Court backlog and which state and court are they waiting for a hearing in?
Click the icon to launch app. Use the 3 dropdown menus to construct the query. Notice the information above the graph, as it is very useful to show the selected dimensions.

Click to open the first dropdown, choose Nationality, then choose Venezuela from the table underneath the dropdown menu.
In the second dropdown, choose Immigration Court State then select the top state. The top state here answers your query.
(Optional) If you wish, you can explore further by making a selection from the third table’s dropdown. .
The tables under the dropdown menus contain statistical data. Notice that both columns in the tables under the dropdown menus are sortable. Sorting can help you to become more efficient in using the apps.
Featured App: New Immigration Court Proceedings
Which state is currently receiving the most new Immigration Court Cases?
Click the icon to launch app. Use the 3 dropdown menus to construct the query. Notice the information above the graph, as it is very useful to show the selected dimensions.

Click to open the first dropdown, choose Month and Year NTA Dated, then click on the bar with or above the month-date to sort by date. We want to sort by reverse time order so you need to click on this sort icon twice.

In the second dropdown, choose Immigration Court State then select the top state. The top state here answers your query. (Optional) If you wish, you can explore further by making a selection from the third table’s dropdown. Or, you can explore by selecting the radio button next to the pie chart for "by Month and Year" to display a time series graph and see how the new filings in the top state have changed over time.