NBC 5 Investigates

Amid ICE enforcement, immigration courts face estimated backlog of 3.7 million cases

A 2023 study by the Congressional Research Service shows the current backlog is so immense that adding another 300 judges wouldn't clear it for 10 years

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The knock on the door was not from Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

They were U.S. Marshals, who last week breached the door of a home in Elgin, about 40 miles outside Chicago, looking for Jose Ramos, a 26-year-old wanted on several outstanding criminal charges, including attempted murder and aggravated discharge of a firearm, according to authorities.

His sisters, Bethzy and Janeth Lopez, say he hasn't lived there in months.

As law enforcement searched the house, they didn't find their brother and ended up apprehending their father, 44-year-old Raul Lopez Garcia.

"We were confused because he wasn't the guy they were looking for. The guy they were looking for doesn't live here," Bethzy Lopez told NBC 5 Investigates.

U.S. Marshals told NBC 5 Investigates while Lopez Garcia was not their intended target, the operation morphed into an ICE case, with the Marshals' service saying there was a delay answering the door and they found Lopez Garcia hiding in the attic.

He was apprehended after they discovered he was undocumented, according to Belkis Sandoval with the U.S. Marshals.

The family said Lopez Garcia has four children, all born in Illinois, and that he has been in the United States for a combined total of more than 20 years.

"He takes care of our whole family. He is the one that works for us; he’s the one in charge of us, so it is a little scary," Bethzy Lopez said. "We don't know what's going to happen, we don't know if we are going to be able to see him again."

Janeth Lopez added, "And they still managed to come inside in this way and breaking down our door and taking someone who they knew was not the person they were looking for."

His arrest happened on the same stretch of days that ICE agents were in Chicago and other major U.S. cities were effectuating well-publicized arrests of immigrants, bringing to reality one of President Donald Trump’s campaign promises to increase immigration enforcement and begin mass deportations.

Raul Lopez Garcia, his family says, was brought to an ICE processing center just outside Chicago in Broadview. Security officers there declined to answer questions of NBC 5 Investigates reporter Bennett Haeberle. Online records show Lopez Garcia is now being held in an ICE detention facility in Brazil, Indiana.

Those familiar with immigration court told NBC 5 Investigates his arrest will likely add to an immigration system that is already dealing with an estimated backlog of more than 3.7 million cases, according to a Syracuse University database that tracks immigration courts.

"The system is definitely overwhelmed. And it's overwhelmed in the big cities, so Chicago, New York, Los Angeles," Chicago immigration attorney Chris Kurczaba said.

Kurczaba said President’s Trump calls for increased immigration enforcement will likely add to the system already underwater.

"I think it's an interesting situation because you have a lot of people who are going to be in the system – are going to be added to the system," he said. "So there will certainly be an impact and certain courts are definitely feeling the pain. And their timelines are getting longer and longer."

A 2023 study by the Congressional Research Service shows the current backlog is so immense that adding another 300 judges wouldn’t clear it for 10 years. In fact, the same study showed it would take an additional 700 judges – or more than 1,300 all told – to clear the backlog by 2032.

"It's hard to put that into perspective when you really think about it because it's charging each immigration judge four or five-thousand cases," retired immigration court judge James Fujimoto said. "That’s just a huge docket when you compare it to just about any other court."

Fujimoto said when he was appointed to the immigration court in 1990, there were 78 immigration judges. Today, he said there are more than 600.

Both he and Kurczaba told NBC 5 Investigates separately that the problem with the court is complicated. For starters, it is not part of the judicial branch of government and instead falls under the Department of Justice. It relies on funding from Congress, which Fujimoto contends has been challenging in that the priorities of the courts can change depending on who is holding political office.

When Haeberle asked Fujimoto about the Trump administration's plan to fast track deportations, he said it will likely depend on the individuals' circumstances. Those who already have orders of removal likely would not see an immigration judge again.

However, those being detained or those who've been assigned court dates could potentially add to the system that it is largely overwhelmed.

"There is only so much you can do. You can say we are going prioritize these types of cases. That you can do if you are in charge," Fujimoto said.

Kurczaba said the challenge for immigration attorneys "is the uncertainty … in Chicago, especially; it's the idea that you never know when your case is going to be called up."

Bethzy Lopez and her sister Janeth told NBC 5 Investigates they're concerned their father could end up deported. He had not previously sought to gain citizenship or seek a temporary working permit.

NBC 5 Investigates reached out to the White House three times over the past few days asking the Trump administration if it has certain cases it would like to prioritize or if it supported adding additional immigration judges to address the massive backlog.

As of Tuesday night, NBC 5 Investigates had not received a response. A woman who answered the phone in the White House press office Tuesday afternoon told us to send an email, which we had already done.

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