The Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse (TRAC) issued a new report on the current backlog of cases in U.S. Immigration Courts. The report shows that while the Immigration Court backlog is increasing, the overwhelming number of cases do not involve criminal aliens or threats to national security. Rather, the majority of cases involve immigration rule violations. TRAC is an independent nonpartisan compiler of information on government enforcement, staffing, and spending based at Syracuse University. The number of cases pending before Immigration Courts is 285,526 as of July 2011. The number represents an all time high. While the number of cases has increased, the cases against criminal aliens or threats to national security have dropped 9.1 from last year. Cases against criminal aliens make up only 8.3 percent of cases. TRAC does not elaborate on the policy significance of the numbers. However, the numbers reflect a disconnection between the Obama administration and DHS’s enforcement policy, which is to prioritize cases involving criminal aliens and national security, and actual enforcement, which appears to be placing an emphasis on deporting aliens who have committed violations of the immigration rules. The report also gives an average of processing times at individual Immigration Courts. On average, non-criminal cases are pending 497 days and criminal cases are pending 410 days. Below is a list of average waiting times for cases:
| All Courts | 490 |
| Los Angeles | 759 |
| Boston | 603 |
| Philadelphia | 589 |
| Salt Lake City | 563 |
| Atlanta | 553 |
| Denver | 529 |
| San Francisco | 526 |
| Omaha | 525 |
| Detroit | 525 |
| New York | 521 |
| Guaynabo | 518 |
| Baltimore | 513 |
| Orlando | 490 |
| Cleveland | 489 |
| Honolulu | 482 |
| Bloomington | 477 |
| Arlington | 469 |
| Phoenix | 467 |
| Chicago | 437 |
| Newark | 436 |
| Portland | 435 |
| Miami | 412 |
| Tucson | 411 |
| Houston | 380 |
| San Diego | 372 |
| Charlotte | 355 |
| Seattle | 352 |
| Dallas | 336 |
| Memphis | 334 |
| Hagatna | 334 |
| El Paso | 325 |
| Kansas City | 319 |
| Hartford | 310 |
| New York — DET | 303 |
| Imperial | 303 |
| Las Vegas | 300 |
| New Orleans | 289 |
| Buffalo | 272 |
| San Antonio | 262 |
| Harlingen | 207 |
| Napanoch | 182 |
| Saipan | 169 |
| Elizabeth | 160 |
| Oakdale | 115 |
| Houston — Detained | 80 |
| Lumpkin | 73 |
| Lancaster | 67 |
| York | 66 |
| Eloy | 64 |
| Miami — Krome | 63 |
| Florence | 52 |
| Tacoma | 44 |
| Los Fresnos | 38 |
Links to the reports are available below: Related Links TRAC, Release, Immigration Court Backlog Climbs, Yet Criminal Cases Fall. TRAC, Immigration Backlog Report TRAC, Immigration Court Backlog Tool
