Reduce immigration backlogs and court delays by adding judges, BIA attorneys, and electronic filing systems.

Reduce the immigration backlog and reduce delays in court. Lori will push for an increase in the number of Immigration Court judges and Board of Immigration Appeals Attorneys. Lori also believes we need to modernize our case management procedures and create electronic filing systems to improve the efficiency of processing such immigrant court cases.

Trahan commits to staffing and process changes to speed immigration cases.

Representative Lori Trahan Congresswoman Lori Trahan was born and raised in a working-class family in Lowell, Massachusetts. She is the mom of two young girls and proudly represents Massachusetts' 3rd Congressional District.
campaign · campaign_site · model gpt-5.4-mini

DOJ EOIR says ECAS is available at all immigration courts and the Board of Immigration Appeals, with use mandatory as of February 11, 2022.

The electronic filing/access component of the promise was implemented nationally for immigration courts and the BIA during Trahan's later federal service.

delivered later_term

EOIR Courts & Appeals System (ECAS) - Online Filing
secondary · model gpt-5.5 · confidence 97%

The final rule implemented electronic filing and records applications for all cases before immigration courts and the BIA, effective February 11, 2022.

Federal Register rulemaking confirms the national legal implementation of ECAS/e-filing for EOIR proceedings.

delivered later_term

Executive Office for Immigration Review Electronic Case Access and Filing
secondary · model gpt-5.5 · confidence 96%

EOIR reported total immigration judges on board rose from 395 in FY2018 to 634 in FY2022, 734 in FY2023, and 735 in FY2024.

Immigration judges were added substantially after Trahan entered Congress, satisfying part of the promised mechanism, though levels later fell to 587 by FY2026 Q2.

partial later_term

EOIR Adjudication Statistics: Immigration Judge (IJ) Hiring
secondary · model gpt-5.5 · confidence 94%

The enacted FY2022 appropriations law provided $760,000,000 for the Executive Office for Immigration Review, with up to $50,000,000 available through FY2026.

Congress enacted EOIR funding during Trahan's later service, supporting immigration court administration and capacity, but the text does not specifically prove BIA attorney additions.

partial later_term A for effort

Public Law 117-103, Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2022
secondary · model gpt-5.5 · confidence 88%

The House passed the relevant appropriations package 361-69; the Clerk records Rep. Trahan voting Yea.

Trahan took concrete legislative action for an enacted appropriations bill that funded EOIR, so effort is credited even though the overall backlog goal was not met.

partial later_term A for effort

House Roll Call 65, H.R.2471, March 9, 2022
secondary · model gpt-5.5 · confidence 93%

EOIR pending cases were 1,108,300 in FY2018, 3,925,351 in FY2024, 3,723,932 in FY2025, and 3,570,145 by FY2026 Q2.

Despite added judges and e-filing, the immigration court backlog was much larger by 2026 than when Trahan first ran for Congress; the core promise to reduce backlogs was not fulfilled.

never later_term

EOIR Adjudication Statistics: Pending Cases, New Cases, and Total Completions
secondary · model gpt-5.5 · confidence 96%

BIA appeals pending rose from 55,467 at the end of FY2018 to 202,803 in FY2025 and 219,945 in FY2026 Q1.

The BIA backlog worsened significantly, indicating that any staffing or process changes did not fulfill the promise to reduce BIA-related delays.

never later_term

EOIR Adjudication Statistics: All Appeals Filed, Completed, and Pending
secondary · model gpt-5.5 · confidence 95%