US Immigration Court Backlog Exceeds 500,000 Cases For First Time

US Immigration Court Backlog Exceeds 500,000 Cases For First Time - BuzzFeed News:
"The backlog of immigration court cases has ballooned to an all-time high of more than 500,000, a number fueled by unaccompanied minors and families from Central America, officials said Wednesday.
The Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR) said there are 500,051 pending immigration cases in the U.S. system.
To deal with the backlog, EOIR plans to boost the number of immigration judges from 277 to 399.
“This is our highest pending caseload,” Kathryn Mattingly, a spokeswoman for EOIR, told BuzzFeed News.
“We currently have approximately 100 more immigration judges at various stages of the hiring process.”
The backlog has been fueled by a growing number of unaccompanied minors and families, mostly from Central America, who have been crossing the border in recent years.
Many of them are fleeing violence back home and are seeking better economic prospects in the US..."