A new report says the government’s way of counting who doesn’t show up to immigration court is flawed.
Authors found that 83% of people facing deportation showed up for all of their hearings from 2008 to 2018.
The report from the American Immigration Council is based on data from the Executive Office for Immigration Review, part of the Justice Department. The agency tracks the number of migrants who don’t go to court. But it doesn’t include cases administratively closed by judges, or attendance in cases that are part of the immigration court backlog.
UCLA law professor Ingrid Eagly is coauthor of the new analysis that does count those groups.
“Our new report debunks the myth that immigrants do not come to court,” she said.
The Executive Office for Immigration Review declined to comment on outside analysis of its data.
The Biden administration’s temporary choice to lead the agency is scheduled to start in the coming days.
