U.S. Immigration Courts at a Crisis Point

Backlogs in the nation’s immigration courts have reached record levels in recent years, with nearly 4 million removals cases pending—adding new pressures to longstanding challenges that have overwhelmed the courts. With it now taking an average of four years for an asylum applicant to get a hearing, the delays are undermining the goals of both the U.S. asylum and immigration enforcement systems. This discussion draws on an MPI policy brief that examines how the immigration courts have reached a point of crisis, with panelists focusing on how the courts have been shaped by the policies of the current administration and its predecessor. The conversation also touched upon the administrative and legislative reforms that are urgently needed to transform the system, key among them increased funding for the courts, commensurate with the historic spending on immigration enforcement included in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. Speakers: Kathleen Bush-Joseph, Policy Analyst, MPI Muzaffar Chishti, Senior Fellow, MPI Chiqui Sanchez Kennedy, Executive Director, Galveston-Houston Immigrant Representation Project Kyra S. Lilien, Former Immigration Judge, Concord Immigration Court, Executive Office for Immigration Review, U.S. Department of Justice Moderator: Doris Meissner, Senior Fellow and Director, U.S. Immigration Policy Program, MPI Report available at More information at

You can listen to U.S. Immigration Courts at a Crisis Point online on Radio and Podcast. Open the player on this page to stream the available audio.

U.S. Immigration Courts at a Crisis Point is an episode from Migration Policy Institute Podcasts by Migration Policy Institute.

This episode is 72:30 long.

This episode was published on Dec 11, 2025.

Yes. Use the heart button on the episode page to add it to your favorite episodes list.

Yes. This page shows related episodes from Migration Policy Institute Podcasts when more episodes are available from the podcast feed.