Immigration court backlog tops 3M with some getting dates 5 years out

As the U.S. continues to deal with record numbers of migrants and asylum-seekers crossing the southern border, the border crisis is made worse by a backlogged and slow immigration court system.

Immigration courts are tasked with processing asylum claims and removal proceedings for those who entered the country without going through legal channels. The right to ask for asylum applies regardless of whether someone enters the U.S. through a port of entry or crosses illegally, but all asylum cases still have to go through the court system.

Once immigrants are processed, they’re given a court date to appear for the next step in their case. But because of the recent influx of migrants and a lack of resources, many of those follow-up dates have been up to five years out.