Only One Fourth of New Immigration Court Cases Involve Mexicans
Women and Children Make Up 35 Percent of All New Proceedings
The number of individuals from Mexico whose removal is sought by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) continues to steadily decrease, according to the latest data on deportation filings from the Immigration Courts. In fact, the count of proceedings involving Mexicans peaked in FY 2009 and has dropped nearly every year since then (see Figure 1).
Figure 1. Deportation Proceedings Against Individuals from Mexico, FY 1992 - FY 2016
Go to Immigration Court Deportation Proceedings tool for details
| Rank | Nationality | Number | Percent |
|---|---|---|---|
| All Nationalities | 63,420 | 100% | |
| 1 | Mexico | 15,821 | 25% |
| 2 | El Salvador | 14,512 | 23% |
| 3 | Guatemala | 11,091 | 17% |
| 4 | Honduras | 7,764 | 12% |
| 5 | China | 1,830 | 3% |
| 6 | India | 1,791 | 3% |
| 7 | Ecuador | 1,155 | 2% |
| 8 | Dominican Republic | 595 | 1% |
| 9 | Brazil | 503 | 1% |
| 10 | Bangladesh | 393 | 1% |
So far this fiscal year only one in four filings (25%) involve individuals from Mexico. With 15,821 new proceedings so far this fiscal year, this is still the largest nationality group represented in Immigration Court proceedings. Not far behind is a growing number of cases involving those from El Salvador, currently numbering 14,512. In third place are 11,091 new filings involving individuals from Guatemala. Other nationalities in the top ten so far this year can be seen in Table 1 and Figure 2.
These latest figures, current as of the end of February 2016, are based on an analysis of case-by-case information by the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse (TRAC) at Syracuse University. For this analysis, TRAC obtained court records from the Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR) under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA).
Figure 2. Top Ten Nationalities for New Immigration Court Proceedings, FY 2016*
* Filings recorded from October 2015 - February 2016.
Go to Immigration Court Deportation Proceedings tool for details
Cases Involving Unaccompanied Children and Women with Children
So far this fiscal year, more than one third (35%) of new Immigration Court filings have involved women with children or unaccompanied children seeking refuge in this country. These cases continue to originate largely with three Central American countries: El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras.
During the first five months of FY 2016, the largest number of cases involving a woman (or other adult) with children has been from El Salvador, followed by Guatemala and Honduras.
The greatest number of cases involving unaccompanied children was from Guatemala, followed closely by El Salvador, and then Honduras.
In fact, during the first five months of FY 2016, the majority of Immigration Court proceedings for these three Central American countries involved women with children or unaccompanied children: 60 percent for Guatemala, 58 percent for Honduras, and 52 percent for El Salvador (see Table 2 for a breakdown of counts and percentages).
| Nationality | Total | Number | Percent | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Women with Children | Unaccompanied Children | Other | Women with Children | Unaccompanied Children | Other | ||
| All Nationalities | 63,420 | 13,664 | 8,563 | 41,193 | 22% | 14% | 65% |
| Mexico | 15,821 | 2,369 | 447 | 13,005 | 15% | 3% | 82% |
| El Salvador | 14,512 | 4,442 | 3,136 | 6,934 | 31% | 22% | 48% |
| Guatemala | 11,091 | 3,499 | 3,144 | 4,448 | 32% | 28% | 40% |
| Honduras | 7,764 | 2,894 | 1,598 | 3,272 | 37% | 21% | 42% |
| Other | 14,232 | 460 | 238 | 13,534 | 3% | 2% | 95% |
Further Details
For additional details on Immigration Court filings from FY 1992 through the end of February 2016, see TRAC's free interactive tool U.S. Deportation Proceedings in Immigration Courts. Information is available on case filings charge, nationality, state, Immigration Court and hearing location.
For further information on unaccompanied children in Immigration Court proceedings from FY 2005 through the end of February 2016, see TRAC's free interactive tool Juveniles - Immigration Court Deportation Proceedings. Information is available on nationality, representation, outcome and a range of other measures for each state, Immigration Court, and hearing location.
Finally, for information on Immigration Court removal proceedings against women with children over the past several years, see TRAC's free interactive tool Priority Immigration Court Cases: Women with Children. Similar to the unaccompanied juveniles tool, information is available on nationality, representation, outcome, custody and other measures for each state, Immigration Court, and hearing location.