The number of immigrants released from custody who failed to appear in court for immigration hearings has increased by more than 150 percent over the last four years, according to a new government report.
The Justice Department’s Executive Office for Immigration Review reveals from Fiscal Year 2010 to FY 2014 the number of in absentia orders — where the alien’s failure to appear resulted in a deportation order — increased by 153 percent for certain released individuals.
“From FY 2010 to FY 2014 the number of in absentia orders for aliens released on bond or on their own recognizance increased by 153 percent while the number of immigration judge decisions for those aliens increased by 41 percent,” the EOIR explains.
According to the EOIR’s report, in FY 2010 there were 4,199 cases of individuals released from detention that resulted in in absentia orders. Each following year the numbers increased, by FY 2014 10,630 cases for that category of immigrant were competed in absentia.
In FY 2014, 39 percent of cases for released immigrants were completed in absentia.
Overall, the number of in absentia cases over the prior four years increased four percent, with 19 percent in 2014.
“Of the immigration judge decisions rendered in Fiscal Year (FY) 2014, 19 percent involved in absentia orders. The number of in absentia orders increased by four percent from FY 2010 to FY 2014. The number of immigration judge decisions decreased by 34 percent in the same five-year time period,” the report reads.
The new data was contained in the EOIR’s 2014 Statistics Yearbook, which EOIR director Juan P. Osuna explained is offered as a means of providing “transparency into the agency’s daily work.”
This article has been updated for clarity
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