Share of Immigration Cases Ending in Deportation Orders Hits Record Low

TRAC reports that. during the first three months of FY 2012, cases disposed of in the nation’s Immigration Courts showed a drop in deportation orders and an increase in the number of individuals allowed to stay in the United States. In percentage terms, the shift was striking. In only about half of the cases (50.8 percent) were individuals ordered removed. This was down substantially from the 56.1 percent who were ordered removed during the previous quarter. Nationally, this is the smallest share ever recorded in court data tracking outcomes during the past two decades.

Counting both removal and voluntary departure orders, slightly fewer than two out of every three cases (64.8 percent) in the first quarter of FY 2012 ended in a deportation order, also an historic low.

Note that these dramatic changes may be related to a review by ICE of all pending Immigration Court cases. The aim of this review, announced on August 18, 2011, was to identify cases which were not deemed to be enforcement priorities.

KJ