--- title: "Immigration Judges Association Says More Judges Needed to Clear Case Backlog" id: "43138" type: "post" slug: "immigration-judges-association-says-more-judges-needed-to-clear-case-backlog" published_at: "2018-06-27T20:18:41+00:00" modified_at: "2026-11-09T16:03:32+00:00" url: "https://associationsnow.com/2018/06/27/immigration-judges-association-says-more-judges-needed-to-clear-case-backlog/" markdown_url: "https://associationsnow.com/2018/06/27/immigration-judges-association-says-more-judges-needed-to-clear-case-backlog.md" excerpt: "The National Association of Immigration Judges is calling for the addition of more judges to tackle a massive backlog of immigration cases. The call comes amid suggestions by President Donald Trump that the legal process for asylum-seekers should be thrown..." taxonomy_category: - "Advocacy" taxonomy_post_tag: - "AssociationsNow" - "IRS backlog" - "judges" - "Leadership" - "U.S. Immigration" taxonomy_content_format: - "Article" taxonomy_role: - "Association CEO / Executive Director" - "Director" - "Executive Team" taxonomy_persona: - "Executive Leadership" --- [Home](https://associationsnow.com/) » [Articles](https://associationsnow.com/format/article/) » Immigration Judges Association Says More Judges Needed to Clear Case Backlog Amid intense attention to the status of immigrants who cross into the U.S. illegally, a debate has arisen about whether to increase the number of judges to adjudicate their cases—and if so, by how much. President Donald Trump [has made the case repeatedly (opens in a new tab)](https://www.nytimes.com/2018/06/24/us/politics/trump-immigration-judges-due-process.html) that there should be no due process for those who illegally cross the border, reflecting a recent hard-line stance that became a flashpoint [as the administration faced criticism](https://associationsnow.com/2018/06/associations-speak-child-separation-policy/) over a since-rescinded child-separation policy last week. But in [a recent interview with NPR’s Audie Cornish (opens in a new tab)](http://nprillinois.org/post/national-association-immigration-judges-says-it-needs-help-backlog-cases#stream/0) , Ashley Tabaddor, president of the National Association of Immigration Judges, pushed back against the idea that the immigration courts themselves are the problem. “We believe that the problem that we’ve been dealing with with the immigration court has been years and years of lack of adequate budgeting,” Tabaddor said. “We have had to deal with a ballooning budget for law enforcement agencies that deal with immigration that has not been matched by the immigration court.” The immigration courts are facing a backlog of more than 700,000 cases, according to a recent*New York Times* report. Noting that there are 334 immigration judges today, Tabbador said the system needs “at least 1,000 or 1,200 judges to be able to combat” the backlog. NAIJ has gained some support from Republican lawmakers. Last week, [Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Tex.) introduced legislation (opens in a new tab)](https://www.cruz.senate.gov/?p=press_release&id=3892) that would provide funding to double the number of immigration judges to 750 and require expedited review, within 14 days, of asylum cases. Meanwhile, a Justice Department plan announced in April that would [implement case quotas (opens in a new tab)](https://www.wsj.com/articles/immigration-judges-face-new-quotas-in-bid-to-speed-deportations-1522696158) for immigration judges would make matters worse, Tabbador told NPR. “We have been functioning under less resources trying to do more with less for years and years. In Baltimore, I believe the last time I looked we had 31,000 cases for five judges,” Tabaddor said. “To try to even imply through imposition of these quotas and deadlines that somehow judges need to be incentivized to do more cases and do them faster is frankly insulting.” (Bill/iStock/Getty Images Plus) [Ernie Smith](https://associationsnow.com/author/ernie-smith/) Ernie Smith is a former senior editor for Associations Now. [More articles by this author](https://associationsnow.com/author/ernie-smith/) Tags: [#IRS backlog](https://associationsnow.com/tag/irs-backlog/) [#judges](https://associationsnow.com/tag/judges/) [#Leadership](https://associationsnow.com/tag/leadership/) [#U.S. Immigration](https://associationsnow.com/tag/u-s-immigration/) **Stay Informed** [Subscribe to our free newsletter](https://associationsnow.com/newsletter/) , *Associations Now Daily News*, to find out what’s happening in the association world every business day. ## You Might Like - [VideoThe Career Moves Every Association Leader Needs Right NowSeptember 24, 2026](https://associationsnow.com/2026/09/24/the-career-moves-every-association-leader-needs-right-now/) - [VideoUrban Land Institute- Project Recovery: Rebuilding Los Angeles After the January 2025 WildfiresSeptember 24, 2026](https://associationsnow.com/2026/09/24/urban-land-institute-project-recovery-rebuilding-los-angeles-after-the-january-2025-wildfires/) - [VideoNCRA: Safeguarding Cancer Surveillance: An Advocacy Response to FY26 Budget ThreatsSeptember 24, 2026](https://associationsnow.com/2026/09/24/ncra-safeguarding-cancer-surveillance-an-advocacy-response-to-fy26-budget-threats/) - [VideoASAE Legislative Summit 2026March 26, 2026](https://associationsnow.com/2026/03/26/asae-legislative-summit-2026/) ## Comments **Comments are for ASAE members.** [Learn more about comments on this site.](https://associationsnow.com/comments/) [Log in](https://associationsnow.com/login?redirect_to=https%3A%2F%2Fassociationsnow.com%2F2018%2F06%2F27%2Fimmigration-judges-association-says-more-judges-needed-to-clear-case-backlog%2F%23comments) to your member account or [join ASAE](https://my.asaecenter.org/select-a-membership-type/) !