RALEIGH (AP) -- Charlotte will get one of three federal immigration courts to help manage a burgeoning caseload of deportations.
The Department of Justice says the courts will open by year's end.
Officials estimate North Carolina has the nation's eighth-largest population of illegal immigrants, ranging between 300,000 and 600,000 foreigners.
Of the ten states with the highest population of illegal immigrations, North Carolina is the only one without an immigration court.
The state's cases are now handled at a court in Atlanta.
U-S Representative Sue Myrick has worked for eight years to bring an immigration court to the state. The Republican from Charlotte says the courts will help expedite the cases of criminals and more quickly get them out of the state and country.
She also says legal residents will no longer have to travel to Atlanta for immigration matters.
Other immigration courts are opening in Omaha, Nebraska, and Kansas City, Missouri.
(Copyright 2007 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
