Photo by John Moore/Getty Images(WASHINGTON) — More than 50 percent of undocumented immigrant children who come into the U.S. remain in this country, an Obama administration official told ABC News Wednesday.
At the moment, there is a backlog of more than 300,000 unaccompanied minor cases awaiting a decision on deportation due to a shortage of immigration judges and courts. It takes approximately three to five years to adjudicate each case.
During testimony in front of the House Judiciary Committee, Tom Homan, the Executive Associate Director for Enforcement and Removal Operations with ICE, testified about the reality of the backlog problem.
“I can say that every unaccompanied child and every family unit member are served with NTAs (Notice to Appear in immigration court) and … there’s a lack of immigration judges and some of these hearings take years.”
In fact, while 26,000 unaccompanied children were apprehended entering the United States illegally last year, only 1,800 minors were sent back to their home countries.
“87% of those are still here in proceedings … Because we have no final orders,” Homan said.
And the problem has gotten worse. To date, more than 54,000 children have been apprehended just this year — a 99% increase from last year.
Of the children who come into the U.S., more than 50% are placed with parents or family members in the United States, the official told ABC News.
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