Eight months after crossing the Rio Grande into the United States, a young couple in their twenties, accompanied by their three children, appeared in an immigration court in Miami seeking asylum. Concerned about threats from gangs in their home country of Honduras, they requested more time to find legal representation to avoid deportation.
Judge Christina Martyak granted a three-month extension to Aarón Rodríguez and Cindy Baneza and directed them to free legal assistance provided by the Catholic Archdiocese of Miami within the same courthouse.
Their case is part of the staggering 3 million pending cases in immigration courts across the United States, fueled by a surge in migrants seeking asylum after illegal border crossings. Over the last fiscal year, the court backlog has increased by more than 1 million, reaching three times the level observed in 2019, according to data from Syracuse University’s Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse.
The growing backlog raises concerns among judges, attorneys, and migrant advocates, who fear that an already strained system is becoming increasingly unmanageable. The lengthy processing times for asylum-seekers to establish a stable life and the deportation of those without a legal right to stay in the country contribute to the challenges.
Mayra Cruz, another asylum-seeker from Peru, expressed a sense of relief after receiving an extension due to not having legal representation. Despite the prolonged legal proceedings, she emphasized feeling safer in the United States after fleeing her home with her partner and children due to threats from gangs.
The Miami court currently has about 261,000 pending cases of migrants in removal proceedings, making it the largest docket in the country. This figure matches the nationwide pending cases from approximately twelve years ago, according to Syracuse University professor Austin Kocher.
