This is true even though Immigration Judges are completing more cases each month and ordering removals more often. Removals generally take less time to complete than cases where judges grant relief. In July 2026, 104,028 deportation cases were completed, up from the record-high total that topped 100,000 for the first time in June. Nearly four out of five (78.6%) individuals were ordered removed in July – up from two-thirds from six months ago.

Despite this, the time from the issuance of the Notice to Appear (NTA) in Immigration Court to case disposition keeps rising. Those ordered removed in July, for example, had waited an average of 901 days for a decision. This is up 51 percent since the end of the last administration when the average wait time two years ago in July 2024 was 597 days.

In July, the average time Immigration Judges took to order removal varied widely by court location from 1,076 days in Indiana to 308 days in New Mexico. Other states with particularly long average times were North Carolina (1,047 days), Florida (1,031 days), Connecticut (1,026 days), and Massachusetts (1,007 days). Because schedules for hearings may change or not be initially set, the actual notice for the hearing may arrive at the last minute despite these lengthy wait times.

The principal determinants of how long these cases take typically have little to do with an individual judge’s decision practices. Already “baked in” is the time cases in each Court’s backlog have already been waiting. Average disposition time thus must be longer than the time cases have already been pending.

While the Court’s overall backlog itself has been inching downward, backlog wait times have continued to grow.

Read the full report for additional details including further state-by-state details.