President-elect Trump promised to start a mass deportation program immediately upon taking office, but there are several challenges in his way. These include funding for federal workers, finding enough space in detention centers, and a huge backlog in immigration court cases. As of November 2024, there are 3.6 million cases waiting to be processed.
Under U.S. law, before someone can be deported, they must get a final removal order from an immigration court. With the largest backlog in U.S. history, individuals may have to wait years for their cases to be decided. The backlog will only get worse by the increase in cases caused by Trump’s deportation plan.
To deal with this, the government needs more money to hire more judges and expand immigration courts. Trump’s supporters are asking Congress to approve additional funding to help carry out the mass deportation program, but so far, no extra funding has been approved. There are about 700 immigration judges now, but many more are needed to speed up the process.
Earlier in 2024, a bipartisan bill was introduced to provide $440 million to hire more judges. However, President-elect Trump stepped in to block the bill, and it did not move forward. Immigration became a key issue in the 2024 Presidential election.
In the last year of President Biden’s term, the U.S. deported the highest number of immigrants in a decade—271,484 between October 1, 2023, and September 30, 2024. This is the largest number since 2014, during the Obama administration.
The Trump administration plans to introduce a bill to fund more ICE officers, raise their salaries, and build more detention centers. They are also considering using the U.S. military to help with deportations.
Currently, immigrants held in detention are given higher priority for deportation cases. Moving more people into detention centers helps speed up the process. ICE can currently hold up to 40,000 people in detention, but Trump’s border czar, Tom Homan, is looking for funding to increase that to 100,000.
If you have questions about removal or any other U.S. immigration related matter, please contact us. Our team of experienced attorneys works directly with our clients to ensure they get expert advice every step of the way.