A recent report sheds light on the significant increase in migrants being ordered deported by U.S. immigration judges, revealing a pace 50 percent higher than in 2019, Trump’s peak administration year, according to findings from the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse (TRAC) at Syracuse University.
During the first six months of Fiscal Year 2024, U.S. immigration judges have ordered the deportation of 137,000 individuals, with nearly half a million migrants deported by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers and Border Patrol agents in the same period, as first reported by Border Patrol.
TRAC’s report states that, “compared with peak removals in FY 2019 during the prior administration, the pace of new removal orders today is 50 percent greater. The increase in removal orders coincides with the expansion of the ranks of immigration judges during the current administration.”
A senior U.S. administration official reported that from May 12, 2023, to April 17, 2024, over 690,000 individuals were removed, with a significant portion crossing the Southwest border, including more than 105,000 family members from 170 countries.
Using data on individual deportation cases TRAC determined the top five cities:
1. New York City with nearly 11,000 removals
2. Harris County, Texas, which includes Houston, with 8,336 deportation orders issued
3. Los Angeles County, California, with nearly 6,000 removal orders
4. Dallas County, Texas, had 2,815 removals
5. Miami-Dade County, Florida, had 2,521 removals ordered
The report also highlights the lengthy legal processes migrants face, with completed immigration court cases averaging 2.5 years from start to finish – meaning that recently completed cases actually began during the Trump administration, not the Biden administration.
Cases resulting in removal orders were completed more swiftly, averaging 627 days, while cases granting asylum or relief took an average of 3.7 years, as first reported by WKRG.
The current backlog of immigration cases is at 3.5 million.
