The Obama administration has started delaying deportation proceedings for more than 56,000 illegal aliens who crossed in the 2014 border surge. The administration says that a lapse in enforcement allowed many of the illegal aliens to go free instead of being enrolled in an electronic monitoring program, saving the government from paying the daily $4-$8 fee for the GPS devices, so they have pushed back their deportation cases.

The delayed deportation cases make up about half of the family units who surged across the border in 2014. Many simply did not show up to receive the GPS device and the administration has decided to push back their cases by years, some will not be put in front of an immigration judge till 2023.

Originally the 2014 border crossers deportation cases were being expedited in an effort to discourage other border surges. Now that these cases have been pushed back other cases have been moved forward.

“The whole thing is docket chaos,” said Paul Schmidt, who retired in June after a 30-year career working for federal immigration agencies, the last 13 years as an immigration judge.

According to a recent TRAC report the backlog for immigration cases reached around half a million earlier this year. A third of the cases involve illegal aliens who crossed in the 2014 border surge. According DHS data the number of family units apprehended this year is expected to surpass the FY14 surge numbers.

The deportation cases for illegal unaccompanied minors who crossed during the 2014 border surge are still being expedited.

Read more on this story at The New York Times.