WASHINGTON — The flood of Central American kids seeking refuge in the United States has led to waiting times of more than 19 months before cases are heard, records show.
The wait has peaked at a nationwide average of 587 days, according to data compiled by the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse at Syracuse University.
In New York, which has six immigration courts and 33 judges, the delay is even longer, at 604 days.
The long waits mean months — or years — are required to deport illegal immigrants, while those deserving haven in the United States are left in limbo.
“It is unacceptable,” said Muzaffar Chishti, director of the nonprofit Migration Policy Institute’s office in New York. “The problem with wait times like this is people who actually are eligible for real relief have to wait a long time, and people who are not eligible automatically get their deportation delayed because they [the courts] are behind.”
The backlog among the nation’s 59 immigration courts is nothing new as enforcement has increased but funding for immigration judges to process the cases has not kept pace.
The 375,000 cases pending is the most ever for the Department of Justice’s immigration court system.
The biggest backlog is in California, with 77,400 cases, followed by Texas, with 62,143, and New York, with 55,010. To speed up deportations, the department will give priority to case of unaccompanied children.
President Obama is asking Congress for $3.7 billion in emergency aid, including 40 additional immigration judges, a 16 percent increase from the 243 currently on duty.
The bulk of the unaccompanied children are largely fleeing Honduras, El Salvador and Guatemala.
Once they arrive, about 95 percent are released to their parents, relatives or sponsors in the United States who may also be here illegally.