Immigration Courts Get Record Number of New Deportation Cases in August
New research from TRAC at Syracuse University finds that 180,000 new deportation cases were added to the immigration courts in August, the largest number ever for a single month. These cases, which begin with the issuance of a Notice to Appear (NTA), often involve recently arrived immigrants who are seeking asylum. Since the start of fiscal year 2023 (in October 2022), over 1.2 million new cases have been added to the immigration courts.
The enormous number of new deportation cases filed in US immigration courts this summer raised the backlog to 2,620,591 pending cases (as of August). If the backlog were a city, it would now be the third largest city, roughly the size of Chicago. See TRAC’s backlog tool here.
Where do these newly arrived immigrants go? TRAC’s latest report finds that California is the top destination for new cases with over 160,000 added to the courts in FY 2023. Other prominent states include Texas, New York, and Florida with over 100,000 new cases each.
New York City was easily the most common destination city for new cases with over 12,000 each month. Houston, Los Angeles, Chicago, Miami, and Dallas also received large numbers of cases in June, July, and August of this summer.
Highlights from the report, which can be found on TRAC’s website, include the following.
Total new deportation cases nationwide. FY to date: 1,230,095. August 2023 only: 180,065.
Top five destination states for new deportation cases:
California. FY to date: 160,297. August 2023 only: 18,323.
Florida. FY to date: 150,346. August 2023 only: 17,901.
New York. FY to date: 145,870. August 2023 only: 19,297.
Texas. FY to date: 139,432. August 2023 only: 23,700.
New Jersey: FY to date: 61,834. August 2023 only: 7,183.
Top five destination cities (based on county) for recently arrived migrant cases in August 2023:
New York City. 14,084 new immigrants facing deportation.
Los Angeles. 5,522 new immigrants facing deportation.
Chicago. 5,553 new immigrants facing deportation.
Houston. 6,178 new immigrants facing deportation.
Miami. 4,057 new immigrants facing deportation.
The full report is available online at: https://trac.syr.edu/reports/729/.
I remember being shocked when it hit 700,000 back in 2018. Seems quaint, in retrospect
Great article! Nothing proves a point better than data. As a retired Border Patrol Agent, I know this is an intentional destruction of the American immigration system.
Next thing we will begin to hear is amnesty is the only answer!