New immigration court docket aims to speed up removals of newly arrived migrants

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Biden administration said Thursday that a new fast-track docket in immigration courts will cut the time it takes decide asylum claims from years to months for some single adults.

Migrants who settle in five cities — Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles and New York — will be placed in a “recent arrivals docket” that aims to have judges rule on their claims within 180 days, instead of the four years or so that it currently takes. The bottlenecked courts are believed to be a significant incentive for more people to come, especially those with weak claims.

The Justice Department has assigned 10 judges to the effort. Authorities said they didn’t know how many cases they would handle, making it difficult to assess the potential impact.