Former Hartford immigration judge says court backlog still straining legal immigration process 

A former federal immigration judge is speaking out about what he calls a struggling immigration court system, saying the process has become too slow, too expensive, and too difficult for many people trying to follow the law.

It is part of NBC Connecticut Investigates’ ongoing series, The Path Forward, examining the real-life process behind legal immigration. 

Retired immigration judge Ted Doolittle says Connecticut’s only immigration court is under pressure from a growing backlog and shifting federal priorities. 

“I saw people who came in in the 1980s,” Doolittle said. 

“For one reason or another, their case had been mothballed.” 

More than 41,000 immigration cases were pending in Connecticut as of May, according to the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse at Syracuse University. 

Doolittle argues the federal government has focused more resources on immigration enforcement than on the court system needed to process cases. 

“You talk about adding ICE agents, that’s great, but how come we’re not talking about thousands more immigration judges?” he said. 

Doolittle was among dozens of immigration judges terminated or not renewed by the Trump administration after it returned to Washington in 2025. 

He says the result is a system where people may wait years for their cases to move forward. 

“They’re putting it toward the process to catch them and detain them, and then that’s where the added resources end,” Doolittle said. 

“They’re not going the next mile and giving them a fair hearing and making sure it’s as quick as it could be.” 

Connecticut has had as many as five immigration judges. 

Doolittle says that number dropped after his departure. 

The Executive Office for Immigration Review, or EOIR, tells NBC Connecticut it can meet demand through remote hearings. 

EOIR’s website indicates there are now five immigration judges at Hartford Immigration Court. 

The agency says reducing the backlog remains one of the administration’s highest priorities. 

Doolittle also says many migrants are misunderstood from the moment they cross the border. 

He says someone who enters without authorization but immediately tells border officials they are seeking asylum has entered the legal immigration process. 

“The first thing they do in the United States is turn themselves in and try to get themselves into the system,” Doolittle said. 

“You need to think about that from the perspective of whether they’re doing it right or not.” 

Doolittle says the process can quickly become overwhelming. 

After crossing the border, declaring asylum or refugee status, and receiving a court date, many migrants then need to find an immigration attorney and sort through extensive paperwork. 

That can come with a steep price tag. 

“I heard people talk about eight to $15,000 that their attorneys are asking to do asylum cases,” Doolittle said. 

“It’s tough to get that on a minimum wage or similar job.” 

Doolittle says new detention policies have made it harder for migrants to prepare their cases. 

He says many people crossing the border are detained and held without bail, leaving some to accept a U.S. offer for a deportation plane ticket back home. 

“Since they’re not ramping up the judges commensurate with the amount of people that they’re detaining, my only conclusion is that the entire policy is to detain people,” Doolittle said. 

He said people can end up being held until they give up and ask to be sent back. 

Asked whether telling people to “just immigrate the right way” is disingenuous, Doolittle said he believes it is. 

“That’s on the American people, American government,” Doolittle said. 

“We’ve made the process not user friendly.” 

EOIR declined to elaborate on Doolittle’s criticism beyond saying cases are being heard “fairly, expeditiously, and uniformly, in accordance with the law.” 

The agency also said it “declines to comment on a disgruntled former employee’s opinion of the immigration system.” 

Doolittle did not stay on the judicial sidelines long. 

He was recently appointed to an eight-year term as a Connecticut Superior Court judge. 

You can see NBC Connecticut’s entire Path Forward series on the NBC Connecticut YouTube channel. 

In addition to the judge interview, the series includes the individual stories of four people who immigrated legally to Connecticut from Cuba, Iran, Haiti, and Burundi.

Source Link