From Border to Courtroom

What happens after someone crosses the border? CBP recorded 12.0 million encounters between FY2020 and FY2026. The immigration court has 1.9 million pending cases. Understanding the pipeline between these numbers reveals how the system actually works.

The Encounter

Every immigration case begins with an encounter — usually at the border, but sometimes through an interior ICE arrest. At the border, CBP processes the person and makes an initial determination:

• Title 8 Apprehension — Border Patrol intercepts someone between ports of entry. This is the classic "illegal border crossing."
• Title 8 Inadmissible — A person presents at a port of entry without valid documents or with a disqualifying factor.
• Title 42 Expulsion (2020-2023) — Under the COVID-era public health order, migrants were rapidly expelled without standard processing. This accounted for millions of encounters but few court cases.

Importantly, one person can generate multiple encounters. Someone expelled under Title 42 might try again the next week. This is why "encounters" significantly exceed the number of unique individuals.

The Notice to Appear

For those not immediately expelled, CBP or ICE issues a Notice to Appear (NTA) — the charging document that initiates removal proceedings. This is where the court case begins.

Not every encounter generates an NTA. Title 42 expulsions didn't. Voluntary returns don't. Some encounters are resolved administratively. The "leaky funnel" from encounter to court case means only a fraction of border encounters become pending cases.

The Wait

After receiving an NTA, the person is scheduled for a hearing. This is where the system breaks down. With 1.9M pending cases and 1,409 judges, the wait for a first hearing can be over a year at many courts.

During the wait, people are either:

• Detained — In ICE custody at ~$200/day. Their cases move faster but outcomes are worse.
• Released — Living in the community with conditions (GPS monitoring, check-ins). Most border encounters result in release pending hearing, especially for families and asylum seekers.

The Hearing(s)

Immigration cases typically involve multiple hearings:

1. Master calendar hearing — A brief initial appearance. The judge explains the charges, asks if the person has a lawyer, and schedules the next date. Often takes 5-10 minutes.
2. Individual hearing — The full trial. Testimony, evidence, cross-examination by the government attorney. Takes 2-4 hours. This is where the actual decision happens.

Cases frequently get continuances between these stages — for finding a lawyer, gathering evidence, waiting for asylum office interviews, or simply because the docket is full. Each continuance adds months.

The Outcome

After all hearings, the judge issues a decision. Our data shows the main outcomes:

• Removal order (628,798 total) — Ordered deported. But an order doesn't mean actual removal — ICE must locate, arrest, and physically deport the person.
• Relief granted (918,787 asylum grants) — Allowed to stay. Includes asylum, withholding of removal, CAT protection, cancellation of removal.
• Voluntary departure (814,501) — Agrees to leave voluntarily, avoiding a formal removal order and its legal consequences.
• Administrative closure — Case shelved without a decision. Can be reopened later.
• In absentia order (2,162,444) — Person didn't show up. Ordered removed without being present.

The Enforcement Gap

Here's where the system truly leaks: a removal order doesn't mean deportation. ICE must find the person, which is difficult when they've been living in the community for years. ICE must also obtain travel documents from the person's home country, which some countries refuse to issue.

Our data shows 628,798 court removal orders but far fewer actual ICE removals. The gap between orders and execution is one of the most politically contentious aspects of the system.

The Full Pipeline

From 12.0 million encounters to ~250,000 annual removals: the funnel narrows at every stage. Understanding this pipeline is essential to understanding why immigration enforcement is so much harder than it appears in political rhetoric.