Many of Lazarus's tired and poor may today be found in immigrant detention facilities, part of an enormous backlog of deportation cases that grows larger by the day.
The government often makes such mistakes for two main reasons: establishing one's citizenship can be a complex process, and officials can overlook critical facts when working through an enormous backlog of such cases.
John's efforts to settle his own complaint with the USDA led him to uncover an enormous backlog of unresolved discrimination cases, some dating back as far as the 1960s.
At the medical examiner's office in Tucson, Dr. Park's team of five investigators, six pathologists and one forensic anthropologist face an enormous backlog of more than 150 unidentified remains, with one case going back as far as 2003.
In the last year, the board had been the subject of a class-action lawsuit by inmates because of an enormous backlog of parole hearings, and faced the spectacle of having its former chairman, Andrew B. Consovoy, resign amid an investigation into his handling of some cases.
For some, like troubled eToys, disappointing holiday traffic created an enormous backlog of inventory.
Visas can be obtained under other programs, but an enormous backlog of interpreters still waits to receive an answer.
And prices are expected to keep sagging under the weight of an enormous backlog of unsold homes.
And an enormous backlog of legislative issues awaits attention, including increasing public-sector pay and overhauling the electricity sector.
As The Times reported on Sunday, the V.A. is under increasing pressure to do something about its enormous backlog of disability claims — more than 600,000 in all.
