As the U.S. ramps up deportation efforts and polling shows that Americans favor plans for illegal immigrants to stay in the country while working to meet citizenship requirements, data from U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services indicates there’s a backlog of 11.3 million immigration cases.
According to Newsweek, that’s the highest number ever recorded. Furthermore, it said that the 2.7 million cases completed during the second quarter of this year represents a “significant drop” compared to previous quarters. Green card delays have also worsened and now take eight months to complete, while work permit delays have doubled compared to the previous quarter.
There are even 34,000 unopened cases that remain in the system, amid a slowdown in employment-based visa processing and a pause in automation efforts due to the USCIS suspending its Streamlined Case Processing program, Newsweek said. While the overall system has a large backlog, the advance parole (Form I-131) backlog did shows some improvement, the outlet added.
Last July, the Migration Policy Institute said an increase in unauthorized immigrants between 2021 and 2022 was driven by migration from countries such as Venezuela, Colombia, Nicaragua, and Haiti, as well as countries in Europe and Africa. It also said that the increases were offset by emigration of Mexican unauthorized immigrants with the unauthorized population from Mexico dropping 34% from its 2007 peak of 7.7 million to 5.1 million in mid-2022.
Per the Center for American Progress, it would cost more than $10,000 per person to deport the estimated 11.3 million unauthorized immigrants from the U.S. That comes out to $114 billion.
Earlier this month, Congress passed a budget reconciliation bill that included funding for immigration detention and enforcement and capped the number of immigration judges, according to the American Immigration Council. In a press release, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security said there were $165 billion in appropriations provided to the department through the bill.
“President [Donald] Trump’s signing the One Big Beautiful Bill is a win for law and order and the safety and security of the American people,” said DHS Secretary Kristi Noem. “This $165 billion in funding will help the Department of Homeland Security and our brave law enforcement further deliver on President Trump’s mandate to arrest and deport criminal illegal aliens and MAKE AMERICA SAFE AGAIN!”
At the same time, Newsweek noted that USCIS is funded solely through fees it charges immigrants for various benefits and documents. Immigration attorneys cited by Newsweek said that one reason for the backlog is the Trump administration’s increased efforts to find fraud in applications.
“By the end of 2028, we will pine for the days of a functioning legal immigration system because it will effectively not exist by the end of the Trump term,” said Charles Kuck, the founding partner at Kuck Baxter in Atlanta.