NEW YORK (NewsNation) — As the U.S. prepares for a surge of migrants, cities like New York are already struggling to house and take care of migrants already in the city.
The problem is expected to get worst as it’s estimated that up to 13,000 migrants per day could cross the border when following Thursday’s anticipated end of the pandemic-era policy Title 42.
On Tuesday, migrants stood in lines outside of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) New York City Field office as early as midnight hoping to meet with an official.
Getting the opportunity to make it inside is like winning a lottery, as the office is booked until March 2033 — meaning at this rate, many asylum seekers would have to wait 10 years to get an appointment to stand before a judge handling immigration cases.
It comes as the New York City office currently has more than 30,000 people waiting on its appointment list.
In 2021, President Joe Biden’s administration allowed migrants to await processing from the office closest to where they wanted to live and be seen by a local ICE agency.
As of January 2023, there were 1.8 million asylum applications pending nationwide. Now, the average asylum case in immigration court takes at least four years to handle from start to finish. So far this year, only 100,000 cases have been completed.
Immigration advocacy groups have said the numbers are a reflection of how “dysfunctional” the system is right now.
Recently, New York City Mayor Eric Adams floated plans to move migrants upstate. He’s also calling on the White House to increase plans to help address the crisis.
In Texas, officials have indicated that they plan to bus migrants to cities across the country and many of those migrants will end up standing in a long line at ICE offices if they want to stay in the U.S. legally.
“Within that volume of millions and millions of people who are waiting to see the immigration judge are people who are truly seeking asylum in the U.S. because they’re being persecuted by their government for religious grounds or other political views. Those people are stuck in the same line as the millions of people who are waiting who likely will not qualify, who likely came here for more economic reasons,” said Ronald Vitiello, a former ICE director.
New York City’s ICE office has the worst backlog in the U.S. due to the high demand to seek asylum there.
Officials have suggested starting virtual appointments to help improve the backlog. They’ve also requested money to hire additional processing agents.