SAN DIEGO — Families arriving at the U.S. border with Mexico will have their cases fast-tracked in immigration court, the Biden administration said Friday, less than two weeks after it said it was easing pandemic-related restrictions on seeking asylum.

Under the plan, families stopped on the border starting Friday could be placed in expedited proceedings aimed at determining whether they can remain in the United States. Immigration judges would generally decide these cases within 300 days of an initial hearing in 10 cities including New York, Los Angeles and border communities such as El Paso, Texas, and San Diego, the Departments of Justice and Homeland Security said in a statement.

It isn’t the first time U.S. officials have sought to expedite the immigration cases of families arriving on the southwest border. The Trump and Obama administrations previously created dockets aimed at quickly deciding these cases in the immigration courts, which are notoriously backlogged and can take years to resolve cases.