"At a time when immigrants across the country risk being detained and deported while awaiting court proceedings, San Francisco's case backlog has never been higher. The city's immigration court has the largest backlog of any immigration court in California, so high that final hearings are being scheduled for as far out as 2029. San Francisco immigration judges had over 120,000 pending cases in fiscal year 2025, according to the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse from Syracuse University."
"At that time - and until earlier this year - immigrants awaiting court proceedings were able to go about daily life without much risk of arrest or deportation, so long as they were following the law. But that has changed in the Trump administration. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents nationwide have swarmed courthouses, detaining people in hallways after proceedings. As attending hearings has become more dangerous, the process is taking longer and longer."
San Francisco's immigration court carried over 120,000 pending cases in fiscal year 2025, the largest backlog in California. Final hearings in the city are being scheduled as far out as 2029. Immigrants in San Francisco wait an average of 914 days after their first notice to appear. The backlog has worsened because more than 90 immigration judges were fired since January, funding for immigration judges remains low, and federal attorneys use tactics that strain the system. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents have detained people in courthouse hallways, making attendance riskier. Only nine immigration judges remain in San Francisco.
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