Ingrid's journey to Charlotte immigration court was a long one 鈥� similar to that of thousands of others seeking a path to stay in the United States. She left Nicaragua with her two children in 2019 for the U.S. and remained at the Mexican border until 2021, when a court granted them parole.
"It was very traumatic," Ingrid said. WFAE is only using her first name so she can discuss sensitive legal issues. "I was traumatized by the fact that they told me that I had to go to court. From the moment I went in, I started to shake, and I inevitably started to cry.鈥�
Ingrid came to the Charlotte area in March 2021. She wasn鈥檛 seen in Charlotte鈥檚 immigration court until January 2024 鈥� nearly three years later 鈥� when she was granted asylum.
"The most tense hours of my life, because 鈥� can you imagine if they had deported me?" Ingrid said. "If they would have denied me asylum and they would send me back to my country 鈥� what is waiting for us is prison."
Ingrid has other relatives who are also waiting years to get visas.
"They haven't been able to get a work permit or a Social Security number, and they've been in this country for three years now 鈥� and their next court date isn't until 2027," Ingrid said.
covers both North and South Carolina. It has the ninth-largest backlog in the country, with nearly 146,000 cases. The average wait time for a case is 552 days from when a notice to appear is issued.
At 7:30 a.m. on a recent weekday, a line of dozens of people snaked around the facility on Albemarle Road in east Charlotte. Hearings begin at 8 a.m.
In a single day, Charlotte鈥檚 Immigration Court saw more than 200 cases across four courtrooms. Immigrants from countries such as Honduras, Mexico, Guatemala and Nicaragua made pleas for asylum.
The tremendous backlog of cases represents lives on hold and years of uncertainty for people 鈥� many of whom are fleeing poverty. The backlog represents how strained the nation鈥檚 immigration system is, even before the Trump administration鈥檚 orders aimed at deporting millions.
Hundreds wait every day
The waiting room was busy, but not as busy as other times 鈥� where even Charlotte Fire Department fire marshals arrived to disperse crowds.
鈥淭here have been historic numbers of people seeking asylum, and our systems of how we process asylum applicants have not kept up with it,鈥� said Carolina Migrant Network's Becca O'Neill.
O'Neill and the Carolina Migrant Network provide pro bono legal representation for people at risk of deportation. O鈥橬eill says a shortage of immigration judges and other resources slows cases.
鈥淭he U.S. government has made a choice to put so many people in removal proceedings and to not give the Executive Office of Immigration Review the resources they need to process the cases,鈥� O'Neill said.
While a shortage of judges and resources has contributed to the backlog, shifting immigration policies under different administrations have also played a role in determining which cases move forward and which remain stalled.
"During the Biden administration, for example, they decided that the priorities were going to be those that had any type of criminal history, any type of arrest, had arrived in the United States before November of 2021,鈥� said immigration attorney Jamilah Espinosa.
Espinosa says now, the Trump administration is shifting its focus on different immigration cases 鈥� closing some and opening others 鈥� which is contributing to the backlog. The long wait can weaken the evidence they present in court.
鈥淪ometimes when people arrive to the United States, they have very ripe claims 鈥� the reasons for their persecution 鈥� they have strong evidence of what is occurring," Espinosa said. "Once they come to the United States, it takes so long for them to be able to present their case that they have changes in their countries.鈥�
WFAE reached out to the Executive Office for Immigration Review. In a statement, the office said its funding hasn鈥檛 kept pace with immigration enforcement, which "ultimately resulted in an excess of cases in comparison to the resources to process them through the immigration court system.鈥�
