TRAC’s latest analysis of immigrants’ residences at the time they were ordered removed provides a detailed portrait of the areas of the country most affected. The largest number of removal orders issued by Immigration Judges were to immigrants residing in New York City. Harris County, Texas, where Houston is located, was in second place, followed by Los Angeles County, California. If the greater LA region—made up of the three contiguous counties of Los Angeles County, San Bernardino County, and Orange County—were combined, this location would vault just below New York City and above Houston in total residents who were ordered removed in the last six months.

Dallas County, Texas, followed by Miami-Dade County, Florida, had the fourth and fifth largest number of immigrants ordered removed by Immigration Judges during the last six months, but numbers were significantly lower than the top three. Lower still was Cook County, Illinois (Chicago). While ranking higher in the receipt of new asylum seekers, it had fewer of its residents ordered removed and was only in tenth place.

Representation rates, however, differ greatly depending on where an immigrant resides. Among the top ten counties, only 5 percent of residents in Dallas County had been represented when they were ordered removed. Orange County, California, south of Los Angeles, had the highest representation rate at 26 percent.

On average, Immigration Court cases completed during the last six months had taken over two and a half years from start to finish, with an average of 942 days. Cases ending in removal orders went faster (627 days on average), while those cases in which a judge granted asylum or another form of relief went slower at an average of 3.7 years (or 1,361 days).

Among all completed cases during the last six months, 38 percent had filed asylum applications, but these were highly concentrated among immigrants who had secured representation. For those immigrants filing an asylum application, only 21 percent were ordered removed. The rest—four out of five—received decisions on various other grounds that allowed them to remain in the U.S.