New Immigration Court to Open in Charlotte, NC

10 Oct 2008

After a long wait, a new immigration court is scheduled to open in Charlotte, NC on November 4. North Carolina has one of the fastest growing immigration populations in the United States and the lack of an immigration court has placed much unneeded stress on that state’s immigrant populations.

In 2007, North Carolina had 2,883 cases in immigration court; those individuals had to travel to Atlanta to see an immigration judge. “We have a backlog of 500 to 600 cases in our office any one day that we are trying to help,” said U.S. Representative Sue Myrick (R-NC). ““An immigration court will speed up illegal alien deportations …. It will also help legal immigrants playing by the rules because they will no longer have to travel to Atlanta to deal with immigration matters.”

The new immigration court will be located at 5701 Executive Center Drive in Charlotte. The city, one of the largest metropolitan areas in the Southeast, has a population of more than half a million people. The city’s new immigration court will cover immigration cases in North Carolina and may potentially cover cases in other, neighboring states. Currently, the Atlanta immigration court covers cases in Georgia, Alabama, South Carolina and North Carolina.