President Trump’s tighter border policies have enabled federal judges to close more immigration cases than they open for the first time since 2008, gradually reducing the significant backlog that expanded during the Biden administration.
As of the end of the 2024 fiscal year, around 3.9 million immigration cases were still pending—more than the entire population of Chicago. The closures surpassed 1 million, marking a substantial shift.
Data indicates that, under Trump, the number of pending cases decreased by over 87,000 by the third quarter of 2025, according to the Department of Justice.
At present, immigration judges are facing about 588,000 pending cases, a stark contrast to the 448,000 new cases being added.
Additional data from Syracuse University’s Transaction Records Access Clearinghouse (TRAC) reflects a similar trend showing a decline.
“It’s been 17 years since something like this happened,” said Andrew R. Arthur, a former immigration judge. He added that there has been a consistent rise in cases, particularly during Biden’s term, where more individuals were released at the border, contributing to the growing backlog.
The Biden administration witnessed the largest surge of immigrants in U.S. history, with an average of 2.4 million entering annually from 2021 to 2024. Notably, around 60% were undocumented, based on Goldman Sachs analysis.
“Had Biden not dismissed and closed 700,000 cases, the numbers would have looked far worse,” Arthur noted, suggesting that while the previous administration might have closed many cases, it didn’t mean immigrants had disappeared.
“Those individuals are still out there. If they didn’t have a place then, they still don’t now,” he remarked.
“I wouldn’t label this a game changer,” Arthur said about the reduction in backlog during Trump’s administration. “If we manage to keep border numbers low and increase the hiring of judges, the backlog can continue to shrink.”
He pointed out that in addition to closing the southern border, the Trump administration worked on hiring more immigration judges, and policies introduced by Attorney General Pam Bondi aimed to expedite asylum cases, which comprise more than half of the backlog.
Many cases resolved during Trump’s time were “ordered in absentia for removal,” meaning those immigrants often didn’t appear in court.
Arthur emphasized that under Biden, immigrants apprehended illegally received notices to appear, but many had no intention of showing up.
The drop in case numbers under Trump is notable given there are currently fewer immigration judges compared to the Biden era. A report shows the number of immigration officers was 735 at the end of 2024, but that number decreased to 635 by the third quarter of 2025.
Trump’s “big, beautiful bill” allocates over $170 billion for border security and immigration enforcement, which includes $3.3 billion specifically for immigration courts and judges. This could further alleviate backlogs in the long run, according to Arthur.
He stated that hiring more judges and increasing court availability, especially near the border, would facilitate faster case resolutions. Trump’s heightened enforcement measures will likely speed up court processes as well.
“There’s a vast difference between detained and non-detained cases,” Arthur explained. “Typically, hearings for detained individuals happen within months, whereas non-detained cases can stretch from several years to, in some cases, a decade.”
The significant reduction in backlogs could notably benefit immigrants with genuine asylum claims. “The sooner we resolve cases, the better,” Arthur explained, mentioning that victims of political persecution can quickly petition to bring their families to safety once their claims are approved.
“Things run smoothly in immigration when cases are handled quickly.”
