U.S. immigration courts are set to hit record numbers of deportation rulings in fiscal year 2025, following President Biden’s push to expedite asylum decisions. With the goal of reducing the staggering backlog of 3.7 million cases, the administration’s fast-track system is showing early results.
Over the first two months of fiscal 2025, the courts have significantly increased the pace of case resolutions, suggesting that if this trend continues, the backlog of cases, particularly for asylum seekers, could be reduced much faster than expected. However, the future of this progress could be at risk if President-elect Trump’s plan for mass deportations is carried out, as it could overwhelm the already strained immigration courts.
The Biden administration’s fast-track system aims to shorten the decision-making process for asylum requests, with some cases being decided within minutes. But there’s concern that Trump’s mass deportation strategy, which includes an aggressive plan to remove millions of undocumented immigrants, could lead to a massive increase in case volumes. Without expanding resources or adding more judges, the already crowded court system could face delays stretching for decades, undoing much of the progress made under Biden’s current initiatives.
Record Deportation Cases Test U.S. Immigration Courts as Biden Reforms Clash with Trump Plans
Immigration courts are projected to rule on 852,000 deportation cases in 2025, based on data from October and November 2024. If this pace continues, it would surpass any previous year. So far, the trend shows that 45% of the cases heard have resulted in removal or voluntary departure orders, an uptick from the previous year. This would bring the number of removals in fiscal 2025 to approximately 383,400, with most cases involving individuals seeking asylum due to illegal entry rather than criminal charges. Despite this, nearly half of the backlog consists of asylum seekers, with many cases yet to be heard or decided.
The 2024 fiscal year saw immigration courts handle almost 850,000 cases, with more than 330,000 individuals ordered deported or told to leave voluntarily. This uptick in deportations was mirrored by an increase in enforcement actions by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), which deported over 270,000 people, the highest number in nearly a decade. Despite political pressures, the Biden administration has aggressively pursued its strategy of accelerating asylum case decisions, even though Republicans have criticized the president for not doing enough to curb illegal immigration.
In response to this pressure, Biden’s administration has introduced multiple measures to expedite immigration court proceedings. One major initiative includes a fast-track asylum system for individuals who have recently crossed the border, which allows judges to quickly reject certain asylum requests.
In addition, visa restrictions for specific countries, like Colombia and Nicaragua, aim to target individuals involved in migrant smuggling. While these steps have helped reduce illegal border crossings, the surge in asylum cases expected under Trump’s deportation plans could overwhelm the system. Immigration judges are already preparing for the influx by attempting to reinstate their union, which was stripped away in 2020, possibly leading to further legal challenges.
