Immigration Application Backlog Tops 2 Million, Leaving Millions at Deportation Risk

NPR reported on April 17, 2026 that the Trump administration has allowed a critical backlog of 2 million+ immigration applications to accumulate — more than the total increase during all four years of Trump's first term combined. The logjam leaves millions of people who filed paperwork to remain legally in the US more vulnerable to deportation because their cases have not been adjudicated. ICE separately disclosed it deported 442,000 people in the first full fiscal year of Trump's second term. Human Rights First documented nearly 120 deportation flights from San Diego area airports alone over the past year.