Nearly 1,000 immigration court hearings canceled in Minnesota amid shutdown

As the government shutdown continues, nearly 1,000 immigration court hearings have been canceled in Minnesota, according to Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse.

TRAC is a data gathering research center at Syracuse University, which tracks data across various government agencies. During the shutdown, the group has been tabulating the amount of canceled immigration hearings during the shutdown.

As of Jan. 11, an estimated 42,726 have been cancelled nationwide, 959 in Minnesota. TRAC estimates the amount of canceled hearings across the country will grow by about 20,000 each week the shutdown is in effect. If it continues, an estimated 100,000 hearings will be canceled by the end of the month.

These latest canceled hearings only add to the backlog, shelving important proceedings for people who may have already been waiting years to appear in court. According to TRAC, as of the end of November, there were more than 800,000 cases on the national backlog and more than 8,500 at the Bloomington location.