Despite increased spending by the Department of Homeland Security, the cost of processing applications of immigrants increased from $345 million in 2022 to $765 million in 2023 with the number of pending cases rising. In November of 2023, the number of backlog immigration cases reached a historic number of 3 million. The number is a 50% increase from the previous year.
The November record of the Immigration Court backlog surpassed 3 million active cases; over a million of the cases had been added in just the prior 12 months. The Center Square reports the Department of Homeland Security increased the number of full-time employees working on application processing from 1,250 to 2,709. Application Processing offers support in decreasing application processing times, reducing the backlog and expanding humanitarian efforts.
The Fiscal Year 2024 President’s Budget includes another $264 million as well as adds 795 more positions to deal with backlogged cases. The Center Square adds that the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services stated it had hired new staff, expanded overtime hours, and invested in information technology to improve the processing of cases.
Far from the southern border in Denver, Colorado, Mayor Mike Johnston said Tuesday that the cost to the state in 2024 will be $180 million to deal with the infusion of migrants. Johnston says the city had 150 buses arrive in December carrying migrants, with over 250 individuals arriving each day.
“This challenge is far larger than we have ever seen it before,” Johnston said. “The scale can feel overwhelming.” The issue is “unsustainable” says Johnston. “We are the closest, cheapest bus ticket from El Paso,” Johnston said. “It’s the cheapest ticket for [Texas] Governor [Greg] Abbott and anyone else to buy, so they just come to Denver. We think that is unsustainable for this city.”
