US Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) special agent preparing to arrest alleged immigration violators at Fresh Mark in Salem, Ohio, June 19, 2018. Smith Collection/Gado/Getty Images Immigration lawyers are overburdened as they deal with 1.3 million backlogged cases. Many are fighting for the ability to rule independently without political pressure, NBC News. Former AG Bill Barr worked to decertify the union that protected them. See more stories on Insider's business page. The country's 500 immigration judges feel overburdened and under pressure to deport as more than 1.3 million cases have been backlogged at the end of the last administration and crossings into the country keep rising, NBC News reported.