Recent government data indicates a substantial backlog of 3 million pending cases in immigration courts across the United States. The backlog has tripled since 2019, witnessing an increase of over one million cases in the past year alone.

The surge in cases is primarily fueled by unprecedented increases in the number of migrants seeking asylum after being apprehended for illegal border crossings. Immigration attorneys and advocates assert that the backlog, coupled with extended wait times for court dates, is exacerbating the challenges within an already strained asylum system.

When border officials apprehend migrants attempting to cross, they often release them with documentation of their detention and instructions to attend court proceedings in their designated city. Randy McGrorty, executive director of Catholic Legal Services for the Archdiocese of Miami, a city experiencing a significant influx of asylum seekers, noted, “They’re just being released without any idea of what comes next.”