valley immigration attorneys are concerned. they say new production quotas placed on immigration judges may not help the backlog. channel fives angelo vargas tells us the difference may be made up in appeals. immigration judges need to resolve at least 700 cases a year to meet government standards. an immigration attorney is calling it a mistake... hundreds of people come to our border each day. please make sure you find the correct sound bite for this "it took us 6 days just to arrive to the border and we didn't suffer, thank god, there are many that don't have the same luck, but it is always a risk." ever arias and his son are from honduras. a country they love and fear. 3:23:22-3:24:08 "unfortunately, well, yes, our country is a beautiful country and very rich in many things, unfortunately our leaders are not being fair with those that need it most and in terms of the violence, yes, there are always cities that are more dangerous than others but we do have a higher percentage of risk in being in the streets, in terms of extortion, robberies, death, the number is always high, a lot of people fear living in our country that's why the majority of us are immigrating to the united states. he and his son are headed to new jersery to find his wife and seek asylum to stay in the u.s.. they will be part of more than 600 thousand other cases backlogged in the immigration court system. the department of justice executive office of immigation review announced this week that all 350 immigration judges must meet a proficieny standard of 700 cases a year. the average number of cases judges complete each year is 678. the office's director james mchenry says this move is to provide "efficient and effective case management." valley immigration attorney cynthia renteria believes this is a mistake. <03:08:41:28> "i think the overall consensus amongst those of us who practice immigration is that it's a disaster waiting to happen." the directive, also, states judges must rule on the same day on every plea for aslyum seekers if the immigrant had credible fear...a reasonable fear of persecution or danger by returning home. that decision would keep the immigrant in the u.s. or the request of the immigrant could be denied. it all must be decided in one day. renteria says if judges decide too quickly this could cause another backlog in other cases.

"if cases go up on appeal then it might alleviate some of the backlog on immigration courts. then you can get a backlog on the appellate body which is a board of immigration appeals." renteria adds this might impact unaccompanied minors and others who don't have a legal counsel, like arias. if that individual doesn't have a lawyer and they go and ask for time perhaps the judge will give them one continuance. if at that second hearing there is no attorney present then the judge will likely order the individual removed." arias says he'll try the system and tell the judge his case. please make sure it's the right translation "hopefully they will be fair with me and they will give me the opportunity to be in this country especially for our kids so they can have a better future." until then arias and attorneys fighting cases similiar will wait to see what the judges decide. again, immigration judges on average complete 678 cases a year. this directive mandates they increase to 700. the new instructions take effect beginning october 1, this year. in the channel five news studio, angelo vargas, channel five news at six. we checked in with a valley republican party chairman to get their thoughts on this issue. hidalgo county gop chairman sergio sanchez tells us he was surprised judges were not resolving at least 700 resloved cases a year, already. sanchez explained increasing productivity, is not the only solution to resolving the backlog..

"we do need to solve these cases, not only faster but we need more judges, that's what i say; we need more judges. there's a huge backlog of cases more that are piling up every single day as folks are crossing illegally and being given court dates and that's alot or work." approximately 350 immigration judges oversee asylum cases. seven hundred cases per year would mean each judge would have to resolve two cases per day to meet the quota. that does not factor the six hundred and fifty thousand backlogged immigration