Immigration court backlog surpasses 500,000 cases for the first time

The Executive Office for Immigration Review reported that the immigration court backlog surpassed 500,000 pending cases in early 2015, a milestone driven by the 2014 Central American child migration surge and chronic underfunding of immigration judge positions. The Obama administration had requested 55 additional immigration judges in FY2015 but Congress appropriated fewer. Cases already waited an average of 602 days from filing to hearing, meaning many immigrants spent years in legal limbo without resolution of their status.