BOSTON (WPRI) — Federal immigration authorities say they are on pace to file a record number of deportation cases this year in Massachusetts.
Data shows an estimated 59,000 cases by the end of the fiscal year, which is on Sept. 30. It would be the largest number of new filings in Massachusetts since 2001
According to the data, there’s been a 300% increase in cases seen at U.S. immigration courts over the last five years.
Hundreds of thousands of migrants have entered the U.S. through parole programs but those only give temporary federal authorization for them to stay, while they could still face a deportation case down the line.
Sarah Sherman-Stokes, with the Immigrants’ Rights & Human Trafficking Program at BU School of Law said she is not surprised cases are going up. Additionally, she said the backlog of more than 150,000 cases congesting Massachusetts Immigration Courts is telling of the drawn-out uncertainty many migrants are facing.
“Many of the migrants in Massachusetts are claiming protection. They’re claiming asylum and related forms of relief because they’re not safe in their home countries,” she explained. “Just because we enact policies intended to deter migrants, doesn’t mean that they’re going to stop coming.”
There has been an influx of incoming migrants stretching the Massachusetts shelter system beyond its limits in recent years.
The state said out of the 57 eviction notices issued only 11 of those families left those shelters by the deadline of last Friday.
