The Center for Immigration Studies found that more than half a million illegal immigrants failed to attend their court hearings between Fiscal Year 2022 and December 2024. This significant rise in no-shows has exacerbated the backlog in the immigration court system, leading to calls for policy reforms to address the issues stemming from the Biden administration's current immigration approach.
Over Half a Million Court Failures: Assessing the Impact of Immigration Policies
Over Half a Million Court Failures: Assessing the Impact of Immigration Policies
A recent analysis reveals that over 507,000 undocumented immigrants missed their court appearances, posing challenges for the U.S. immigration court system.
More than 507,000 illegal immigrants reportedly did not attend their scheduled court hearings between Fiscal Year 2022 and December 2024, according to a new analysis by the Center for Immigration Studies (CIS). This considerable figure has thrown the U.S. immigration court system into disarray, compounding an already overwhelming backlog.
The report alleges that under the Biden administration's "catch-and-release" approach, a large number of migrants were permitted entry into the United States with only a Notice to Appear—an indication to present themselves in court at a later date. According to CIS, over half a million migrants failed to comply, leading to in absentia removal orders issued by immigration judges. This presents a striking 45% increase in missed court appearances compared to the total from the previous seven years, which includes the Obama and early Trump administration periods—when enforcement was viewed as more stringent, resulting in better compliance rates.
The repercussions for the immigration courts are significant. With immigration dockets already burdened by over three million outstanding cases, the surge in no-shows has rendered timely adjudication of cases nearly impossible. Default deportation orders issued by the courts lack an effective implementation mechanism under Biden’s policies, allowing many individuals ordered for removal to disappear into the country without consequence.
Andrew R. Arthur of CIS has characterized the system as not only strained but intentionally undermined. He suggests that the considerable number of failures to appear is indicative of the Biden administration's broader strategy to dismantle immigration court processes by opting against detaining individuals who enter illegally.
Critics of the administration emphasize that without mandatory detention or effective oversight, the immigration court framework risks becoming a mere formality—where justice may be delayed, denied, and regularly ignored.
In response to these challenges, the Trump administration has vowed to restore order by reinstituting detention-first policies, increasing the number of immigration judges, and equipping them with the necessary authority and resources to enforce rulings and alleviate the current backlog.
Experts warn that without significant policy reforms, the immigration courts will continue to be overwhelmed, paralyzed, and ineffective—further illustrating the ramifications of the Biden administration's immigration strategies.
