Former immigration judge Mark Metcalf writes in the Washington Times (my emphasis):

America’s immigration courts beg for reform. Defined by weakness, they are the heart of a system that nurtures scandal. From 1996 through 2009, the United States allowed almost 1.8 million aliens to remain free prior to their trials before immigration judges. Of those, 770,000 – 44 percent – never showed. Over the past 14 years, nearly 1 million deportation orders were issued to aliens the United States allowed to remain free prior to their trials. Seventy-eight percent of those people never came to court and were ordered removed. Nearly 600,00 remain at large. …

Simply stated, America’s immigration courts are upside down. Aliens who enter this nation illegally and then evade court or disobey orders to leave are treated better than the general public in courts across the United States. In any other court, court evasion results in contempt charges, arrest and incarceration. In any other court, judgments are enforced and court business is reported candidly to the public.

Yet another example of how illegal immigrants have come to be regarded as a de facto protected class under American law.