The U.S. asylum backlog
December 28, 2022
According to cnn.com, the U.S. asylum backlog has reached nearly 1.6 million pending applications in U.S. immigration courts and at USCIS. This is the largest number of pending asylum applications on record. There has been over a seven-fold increase in asylum cases from the fiscal year 2012, where there were 100,000 cases pending, whereas, by the end of the fiscal year 2022, the backlog grew to over 750,000. Asylum seekers range from 219 different countries and speak 418 different languages. The overall average length an asylum seeker waits for a hearing is about 4.3 years, but in Omaha, Nebraska, the wait averages 5.9 years, with the longest delay. A majority of asylum seekers are being monitored electronically through the Department of Homeland Security’s Alternative to Detention program, but a small portion is being held in ICE detention.
Specific content can be found here:
https://www.cnn.com/2022/12/26/us/asylum-backlog-highest-record/index.html