* Devolution of the immigration judges' discretionary power to close deportation cases.

* U.S. Immigration and Citizen Services (ICE) now again has the discretionary power to close cases of migrants with low-priority deportation orders.

* New emphasis on the deportation of foreigners with grave criminal charges pending.

* Fewer detention and deportation raids, while giving priority to the detentions of those who represent a grave threat to U.S. public and national security.

* Ending the requirement that immigration courts review every favorable ruling on asylum applications.

“This helps to ease the logjam, but there are so many cases backed up that the improvements will not be seen in the short run,” warned Jaime Barron, an immigration attorney in Dallas.