New immigration court docket aims to speed up removals of newly arrived migrants

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Biden administration is creating a new process aimed at cutting the time it takes to decide the fates of newly arrived migrants in immigration courts from years to roughly six months at a time when immigration is increasingly a concern among voters.

Under the initiative announced Thursday, single adult migrants who’ve just entered the country and are going to five specific cities would have their cases overseen by a select group of judges with the aim of having them decided within 180 days.

That would mark a vastly quicker turnaround time than most cases in the country’s overburdened immigration system, which can average four years from beginning to end. And by deciding the cases faster, authorities can more quickly remove people who don’t qualify to stay.

<bsp-list-loadmore data-module="" class=«PageListStandardB» data-gtm-region=«RELATED NEWS» data-gtm-topic=«No Value» data-gtm-modulestyle=«List B»> <bsp-custom-headline custom-headline=«div»> RELATED NEWS </bsp-custom-headline> <bsp-custom-headline custom-headline=«div»> The Biden administration is planning more changes to quicken asylum processing for new migrants </bsp-custom-headline> <bsp-custom-headline custom-headline=«div»> Haiti’s crisis rises to the forefront of elections in neighboring Dominican Republic </bsp-custom-headline> <bsp-custom-headline custom-headline=«div»> Majority of EU nations want more partnerships to stem migration from countries of origin </bsp-custom-headline> </bsp-list-loadmore>

But it’s unclear how many migrants would go through this new docket, raising questions about how effective it will be. The details were laid out by senior administration officials during a call with reporters Thursday. They spoke on condition