TRAC Data: Number of Cases Pending in Immigration Court at All-Time High, Nearly 250,000

The number of cases awaiting resolution before the Immigration Courts reached a new all time high of 242,776 matters at the end of March 2010, according to an analysis of very timely court data by the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse (TRAC). The case backlog has continued to grow -- up 6.3 percent -- since TRAC's last report four months ago, and is nearly a third higher (30.4%) than it was a mere 18 months ago. The average length of time cases have been waiting increased to 443 days. TRAC's latest report on the Immigration Courts can be viewed at this address: http://trac.syr.edu/immigration/reports/232/

 Released with this special report is an update to TRAC's Immigration Court Caseload Tool, which provides a way to obtain case backlogs and waiting times in each state, court, and hearing location. This information is also available by nationality. For the Immigration Court Caseload Tool, go to: http://trac.syr.edu/phptools/immigration/court_backlog/

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KJ