FIRST ON FOX: Nearly 1 million illegal immigrants are staying in the U.S. “indefinitely” after their cases were dismissed or closed, or the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) failed to file the necessary documentation, according to a new House Judiciary Committee report being released on Thursday.
“Through administrative maneuvering at both the Justice Department and DHS, the Biden-Harris Administration has already ensured that nearly 1 million illegal aliens can remain in the United States without the possibility of deportation—and that trend shows no sign of stopping,” the report by the House majority on the committee, first obtained by Fox News Digital, says.
When illegal immigrants are encountered, they can be put into removal proceedings by which they will eventually face an immigration judge to have their case decided. There are around 700 immigration judges across the U.S., and they currently face a backlog of millions of cases after the historic crisis at the border.
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The report cites briefings to the committee, which staff say revealed that over 700,000 illegal immigrants have had their immigration cases dismissed, terminated or administratively closed in immigration court during the current administration, “allowing those aliens to stay in the country indefinitely without facing immigration consequences.”
Additionally, it says that the Department of Justice’s Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR), which oversees immigration courts, reported over 109,000 cases as not adjudicated in FY 23, meaning they were completed but not adjudicated on the merits of the claims.
Additionally, as previously reported, DHS has failed to file the necessary documentation for 200,000 additional cases, “meaning that the overwhelming majority of those aliens can also remain in the U.S. indefinitely.”
“Instead of actually adjudicating illegal aliens’ cases based on the merits of aliens’ claims for relief—such as whether an alien has a valid and successful asylum claim—immigration judges under the Biden-Harris Administration have been tasked with rubberstamping case dismissals, case closures, and case terminations, all of which allow illegal aliens to remain in the United States without immigration consequences,” the report says. “This sort of quiet amnesty has become a staple of the Biden-Harris Administration’s immigration courts.”
A Border Patrol agent guides migrants that crossed into Shelby Park into a Border Patrol van to be taken to a processing center on Feb. 4, 2024 in Eagle Pass, Texas. (Photo by Michael Gonzalez/Getty Images)
The report details that DHS issued a memo in 2022, directing Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) attorneys to promote the closure and dismissal of cases, given the enormous backlog. It was framed as removing “nonpriority cases” from the docket — meaning those who do not qualify as national security, public safety or border security threats.
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Meanwhile, at the DOJ, the committee points to a 2021 memo issued by Attorney General Merrick Garland, in which he restored the use of a process known as administrative closure to allow a “focus on higher-priority cases.” The committee found, after interviews with officials including a former EOIR director, that immigration judges were encouraged to dismiss or administratively close cases.
“In weaponizing both immigration judges within the Justice Department and ICE attorneys within DHS, the Biden-Harris Administration has guaranteed that upward of 1 million aliens—the overwhelming majority of whom likely would otherwise not have a legal basis to remain in the United States—can stay in the country indefinitely,” the report says. “This quiet amnesty not only undermines U.S. immigration law but also incentivizes additional illegal aliens to arrive at America’s borders, knowing they will be released into the country and never deported.”
Fox previously reported that dismissing cases can also be problematic for migrants, who may be left in limbo as to their status and what to do next, as a dismissal does not grant a form of legal status either.
The DOJ declined to comment, while DHS pointed to stats showing that 96% of notices to appear in court (NTAs) have been filed successfully since Jan 2021, and 98% since the start of FY 23, with the majority of new NTAs being filed digitally and automatically into EOIR systems.
The DHS says that when an NTA is not filed correctly or late, the NTA is re-submitted so that the cases can continue at a later date. It stresses that migrants are also told to check in and report changes of address so they can continue to receive information about their cases.
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Migrants wait in line to be processed by the Border Patrol along the border wall after crossing the Rio Grande into El Paso, Texas. (HERIKA MARTINEZ/AFP via Getty Images)
Meanwhile, the Biden administration has emphasized a sharp drop in encounters at the border since President Biden signed an executive order limiting entries into the U.S. Encounters are down 55% since then. The agency also says it has completed over 700,000 removals or returns for FY 24, the most since 2010.
It comes as immigration remains a top election issue ahead of Nov. 5, with both former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris dueling over who is the best candidate to tackle the situation at the border.
Get the latest updates on the ongoing border crisis from the Fox News Digital immigration hub.