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Given the record number of apprehensions seen along our southern border for a second year, the concern is growing over the backlog of cases in immigration court.
Immigration attorneys and advocates say the status quo cannot continue or the numbers will continue to grow.
“It’s a little bit chaotic,” said Houston immigration attorney Raed Gonzalez. “There’s a lot of new judges coming in that are not familiar with the processes.”
Gonzalez also said he does not see a clear focus on how the federal government is prioritizing the 1.9 million cases backlogged in immigration court. A number that has more than doubled over the last five fiscal years, according to the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse maintained by Syracuse University.
Currently, it is taking an average of 795 days for a case to be decided in immigration court, according to TRAC.
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