The Department of Justice says President Donald Trump’s executive order to put more immigration judges at detention centers has helped clear some of the backlog of immigration cases within the United States.
More than 100 immigration judges have been assigned to immigration detention facilities across the country including the southern border with Mexico. The judges handle both in person and video conference cases.
They Department of Justice compared the results of the judge surge to historical data when it comes to outcomes of immigration cases in the United States. The department projects the surge of judges have completed 2700 more cases than if the judges had not been mobilized.
The statistics also found the judges who were assigned specifically to target the backlog have completed 21% more cases than historical, expected performance by judges who have been based at the same locations.
“EOIR (Executive Office of Immigration Review) is pleased with the results of the surge of immigration judges to detention facilities and the potential impact it has on the pending caseload nationwide,” said Acting Director James McHenry. “The Justice Department will continue to identify ways in which it can further improve immigration judge productivity without compromising due process.”
CNN is reporting that although the latest stats are positive for the Department of Justice a major case backlog still exists within the immigration system.
Syracuse University keep tabs on the immigration court system and according to the university there was a backlog of 630,000 cases pending for fiscal year 2017.
President Trump’s executive order have made dealing with court backlogs a priority. Along with mobilizing more judges, the administration is looking at whether technology like video conferencing can help, according to CNN.