Trump-era judges accelerate deportations, shrinking immigration backlog dramatically

Under judges appointed by Donald Trump, immigration courts have accelerated deportation orders, raising the monthly total to 79,000 in June—up from roughly 25,000 in late 2024. Andrew Arthur, a former immigration-court judge now with the Center for Immigration Studies, noted that the backlog fell from almost 4 million to below 3.5 million. The Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse reported that only 1.9 percent of cases now grant legal status, a steep decline from the roughly 25 percent seen during the Biden administration.

The administration’s termination of Temporary Protected Status for 350,000 Haitians is forcing companies, such as elder-care providers, to replace migrant workers with American hires and raise wages. CEOs like Adam Scott of Hebrew SeniorLife and Rachel Blumberg of Sinai Residences have highlighted training programs and increased bonuses to attract domestic staff. Officials such as James Percival of the Department of Homeland Security describe the strategy as using a larger pool of district judges to expedite removals, with expectations of even higher numbers in July and August.