Immigration backlog causes chaos for migrants, courts

(NewsNation) — The backlog of immigration cases is growing by the day, with more than three million cases backlogged right now, nearly 500,000 of them in Florida.

Several factors contribute to the backlog, including a growing number of asylum claims and appeals cases from previous years that remain open as well as pending deportation proceedings. Immigration courts are also dealing with a shortage of judges to handle the caseload.

In Miramar, Florida, not far from Miami, thousands of migrants arrive to check in at an Immigrations and Customs Enforcement office after they come across the border and make their way to Florida. They’re greeted with long lines and often confusion.

Some migrants are told to go to the office to register, but when they arrive to check in are told there’s no documentation for them in the system.

That chaos comes on top of a backlog of cases that has grown to nearly half a million in Florida alone. That’s a number that has more than tripled since 2021, as the court system can’t keep up with the sheer number of people crossing the border.

Billy Botsch, with Miramar Circle of Protection, an immigrant’s rights group, said Congress has done little to actually fix the issue and increase the court’s capacity to process cases.

“There’s a list that security has, and the list isn’t always matched to the list of appointments that people are supposed to report for,” Botsch told NewsNation. “So a lot of people show up with appointments on their paperwork, and then the guards at the gate tell them, no, you’re not on our list, so tough luck.”

Once someone finally gets an appointment, they may not have their court date set until 2027 because the system is so backlogged. Judges in Florida have as many as 10,000 cases to hear.

A bipartisan immigration deal in the Senate would reduce the time to process asylum cases in hopes of helping reduce the backlog. It would also give the president authority to shut down the border between ports of entry if crossings reached a certain threshold.

However, the deal is facing objections from House Republicans who say it doesn’t go far enough. Former President Donald Trump has also urged Republicans to vote against the compromise, saying they need to hold out for a “perfect” bill.