Title: Biden‘s Immigration Record: deportation rates soar as backlog grows
Meta Description: As Biden’s term nears an end, deportation records reach a decade-high. With a massive immigration case backlog, will Biden’s successor, Trump, follow through on deportation promises?
Article:
The Biden administration is deporting migrants at a pace not seen since 2015, with federal judges closing nearly one million cases in the 2024 fiscal year. As Biden’s term comes to an end, the stage is set for Donald Trump to ramp up deportations once he returns to the White House on January 20.
A Record-Breaking Year
The 2024 fiscal year (October 2023 to September 2024) was unprecedented for immigration courts. The 700 specialized judges handled 914,000 cases, a 36% increase from the 674,000 cases closed in the 2023 fiscal year. On average, judges resolved about 58,000 cases monthly, with a record 87,000 cases closed in May.
Nearly 850,000 of these cases involved deportation orders. Miami led with 47,000 resolved cases, followed by New York (45,000), Orlando (36,000), Chicago (32,000), and Dallas (29,000). Montana had the highest deportation rate, while Rhode Island had the lowest.
An Overwhelming Backlog
Despite the record-breaking numbers, the immigration case backlog remains formidable. As of November 2024, around 3.5 million cases were pending across 71 federal courts. Approximately 1.7 million of these involved asylum requests. A Syracuse University report suggests that the 2025 fiscal year could see even more cases and deportation orders.
Judges are ordering expulsions at an increasing rate, with 64,000 decisions in 2024, a 45.4% increase from the 2023 fiscal year average of around 39%. Most of these involved Mexican nationals. However, not all orders result in immediate deportation; Biden’s administration removed about 271,000 people in the 2024 fiscal year, fewer than the number of orders issued.
Promises of Mass Deportations
Trump, who takes office on January 20, has vowed to prioritize deportations, potentially targeting immigrants with criminal records. However, the system’s backlog and processing times may hinder swift action. For instance, it took years to deport Yusuf Abdi Ali, a Somali war criminal, despite initial identification in the 1990s.
Only 0.74% of deportation orders are related to criminal activities, aside from immigration violations. Experts suggest that focusing on these cases may not lead to the massive deportations Trump has promised. With the immigration system already overwhelmed, speedy action may prove challenging for the incoming administration.
