Chicago Public Radio reports that a record case load at the Chicago Immigration Court is causing hardship for asylum seekers:

Chicago’s federal immigration court is backed up with a record 8,696 cases. The average wait for a hearing is more than a year. Some immigrants don’t mind, since the backlog buys them time here. But it’s hard on asylum seekers. And it has consequences on other parts of the justice system.

Attorney Lisa Palumbo of the Legal Assistance Foundation of Metropolitan Chicago says long delays for asylum applicants are the norm.  They have to put off decisions like buying a home and accepting a job out of state.  Palumbo points out that many can’t get work authorization or student financial aid.  Worse, many are separated from family members in their home countries, and sometimes those family members face potential persecution.

Here’s what’s causing the logjam: The government has added more agents and prosecutors to arrest and deport undocumented immigrants. But it hasn’t added enough judges to hear the cases. At the Chicago court, the number of judges since 2006 has actually dropped from eight to five.

The Asylumist reported on this problem in recent post, We Need More Judges.  EOIR has stated that additional immigration judges are on the way.  For asylum seekers stuck in the system, the new judges cannot arrive soon enough.