Different order, same problem

New fast-track docket for migrants faces familiar challenges

The average time for U.S. immigration cases to be resolved is nearly four years. But that’s not the mandate in Francisco Prieto’s courtroom.

The New York judge must attempt to rule within 300 days on dozens of cases he hears daily from families that just entered the country.

The migrants are being sent to the front of the line with the idea that others will be less likely to migrate knowing a backlog of more than

1.4 million cases will no longer buy them a few years in the United States even if they lose.

Nearly six months ago, the Biden administration established a “dedicated docket” for families in Prieto’s city and 10 others, including Boston, San Francisco, Miami and El Paso, Texas.

It is a modest step aimed at bringing order to the southern border, where authorities this year have faced high numbers of migrant arrivals, including nearly 15,000, mostly Haitians, who camped under a bridge in the small border town of Del Rio, Texas, in September.

Roughly 35 of the country’s more than 530 immigration judges are assigned to the new docket, according to the most recent data provided by the Executive Office for Immigration Review, which oversees federal immigration courts. Many juggle the duties on top of their normal caseloads.

While it’s still early, the effort has made progress: As of mid-september, it was handling nearly 16,000 cases, and more than 100 had received at least an initial decision, according to the agency. It declined to provide more details.

Still, the numbers barely make a dent : Tens of thousands of migrants are released into the country each month, with orders to report to immigration authorities later.

The Justice Department, which oversees immigration courts, has said it chose the 11 cities involved not just because they’re where most recent arrivals are settling, but because they have established legal service providers and available judges.

Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, in an emailed statement this week, maintained the dedicated docket provides fair hearings for families seeking asylum.

Theresa Cardinal Brown, a managing director at the Bipartisan Policy Center, said she’s skeptical unless the effort gets more resources.

“You’re still asking immigration judges who have a regular docket to also do this,” said Brown, who recommends new positions to fund border courts that would aim to decide cases in six months. “You haven’t expanded capacity at all.”