New ‘rocket docket’ for migrant families raises old concerns

By CLAUDIA TORRENS, PHILIP MARCELO and ELLIOT SPAGAT
Associated Press

NEW YORK (AP) — Nearly six months ago, U.S. immigration courts established a fast-track docket for families who recently crossed the border. They go to the front of the line with the idea that others will be less likely to migrate knowing a backlog of more than 1.4 million cases will no longer buy them at least a few years in the United States. While it’s still early, the effort faces the same kinds of complaints and challenges as prior programs under Biden’s two predecessors. As of mid-September, the Biden effort was handling nearly 16,000 cases, and just over 100 had been decided by an immigration judge.