The latest data from our nation’s Immigration Courts reveals that judges are deciding more asylum cases than ever–and that denial rates are increasing.
The most recent numbers are from March 2025, and show that Immigration Judges adjudicated 10,933 asylum applications, which is the most cases ever decided in a single month. Of those, 76% were denied–another record.
Here, we’ll examine the data and see if we can learn more about what’s going on.
Asylum Offices around the country have become very busy. Oldest and newest cases, cases that were previously before the Immigration Court, and sometimes seemingly random cases are being scheduled for interviews. Often times, there is little advanced notice prior to the interview date. This means that applicants do not always have enough time to gather and submit their evidence, which is usually due at least a week before the interview.
Since it is not possible to know when you might be scheduled for an interview, or how much advanced notice you will have before the interview, the best approach is to gather your evidence now, so you are ready to go when the time comes.
A new Memo from the Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR, the office that oversees our nation’s Immigration Courts) allows Immigration Judges to “pretermit” (deny) asylum cases without a hearing if the applicant has failed to state a claim for protection. What does this mean? And how can asylum seekers in court protect themselves from having their applications pretermitted?
This post is by Shelby Negosian, a third year student at Washington University in St. Louis, who is studying Environmental Analysis with a double minor in Legal Studies and Geospatial Science. She is interested in environmental tort law, and has a particular interest in environmental justice and immigration.
The intersections between environmental and immigration law are perhaps not immediately apparent, but these intersections are real and ever more prominent under the Trump Administration.
The number of internally and externally displaced people has been increasing exponentially. The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) found that there were over 117 million displaced people in 2023. In a single decade, the number of refugees tripled from 11 million in 2013 to 37 million in 2023, and is only expected to increase due to climate change. While climate change–through disaster, hunger, and conflict–is forcibly displacing people, legal systems are not keeping up.
Since he entered politics, our President has denigrated asylum seekers as fraudsters who game the system in an effort to harm hard-working Americans.
Having practiced in this area for more than two decades, my observation is that most asylum seekers have legitimate claims, and in many cases, there is indisputable evidence about the risks they face. That’s not to say that people don’t sometimes exaggerate or even make things up–many asylum seekers come from countries where lying to their governments is necessary for survival–but at least in the cases I have seen, the large majority of applicants have legitimate claims for protection.
But there is another type of fraud in the asylum system. This fraud is more pervasive and more dangerous because it points to wider problems within our government. I am speaking here about the fraud perpetrated by the Asylum Office itself.
Late last Friday evening, the Trump Administration issued an Executive Order targeting lawyers–and specifically immigration lawyers–who “engage in actions that violate the laws of the United States or rules governing attorney conduct.” The order is part of a broader push by the Administration to target law firms that stand in the way of its agenda, and is aimed at intimidating attorneys and preventing us from doing our jobs.
What effect will this EO have on the legal profession, and how will it affect immigrants and asylum seekers?
By now, you’ve probably heard that the Trump Administration is not a fan of immigrants. They have been making changes to detain and deport more non-citizens, more quickly, and with fewer due process protections. To that end, the Administration is pressuring Asylum Officers and Immigration Judges to adjudicate more cases. These civil servants are already stretched thin, and so the additional work is likely to reduce decision quality, as well as damage morale. It will also make litigating cases more difficult for asylum seekers and other non-citizens, as they will have less time to present their cases, and–most probably–less time to prepare.
In the waning days of the Biden Administration, DHS extended Temporary Protected Status (“TPS”) for Venezuelans until October 2026. Last week, the Trump Administration rescinded that decision. As a result, hundreds of thousands of people from Venezuela are set to lose status over the next several months.
For Venezuelans–and people from other countries who may lose TPS–what are the options? (more…)
There are probably 4+ million asylum seekers in the United States. These are people who filed an application for asylum, form I-589, with the USCIS Asylum Office or with the Immigration Court, and their dependents. Under the new Trump Administration, are such people safe from detention and deportation by ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement)?
For two-and-a-half months since the election and for what seems like years before that, we’ve been hearing from Donald Trump and his surrogates about how they would deport millions of people, block refugees, end birth-right citizenship, and implement a campaign of “shock and awe” against those in our country illegally. Earlier this week, Mr. Trump was finally sworn in, and his specific agenda is starting to take shape. In some ways, it is easier to deal with his actual policies than to wonder and worry about what he might do. Here, we’ll discuss some of the President’s initial executive orders and how they might affect asylum seekers and other non-citizens in the US of A.
As part of the transition to my new firm, I have been learning their procedures: How they intake cases, create calendars, store documents, manage consultations, etc. As a lawyer, I’ve attended many consultations over the years, but I have always been the lawyer doing the consulting. I have to listen carefully to the person’s story and think of ways to help. I don’t get to focus on the humanity of the situation. But learning the ropes at Murray Osorio (ok, yes, shameless plug for my new firm) allowed me to observe other attorneys consulting with potential clients. Since I didn’t have to pay close attention to the substance of the meeting, I could think more about the human side of things. And this got me thinking about all we are about to lose once the new Administration takes office.
As part of its “mass deportation” plan, the incoming Trump Administration has promised to detain many more immigrants and asylum seekers.
Currently, ICE has the capacity to hold about 40,000 people at any given time. Tom Homan, Mr. Trump’s “Border Czar,” has promised to increase detention capacity to at least 100,000. Whether the budget or political will exists to implement these plans, we shall see, but certainly we can expect some level of increased immigration enforcement and detention. If nothing else, the new Administration plans a campaign of “shock and awe” to terrify non-citizens and perhaps convince them to leave the country.
Here, we will discuss what happens when an immigrant is detained, and how to prepare for that possibility. (more…)
Yes, traditionally, these lists include ten items, I know. But these days, you need to take your good news where you can get it, and nine was the best I could muster.
Despite the incoming Administration’s promises of mass deportation, travel bans, and general nastiness, there are some reasons to be hopeful in 2025. Well, maybe “hopeful” is too strong a word, but at least there are some reasons to not lose hope altogether. In any event, without further ado, here are nine reasons for optimism in the New Year: (more…)
I started my own immigration law practice at the end of 2003. Since then, I have been either a solo attorney or I’ve been working with one or a few colleagues. Now, that’s about to change. I am happy to announce that starting on January 1, my coworkers and I will be joining Murray Osorio PLLC, a full-service immigration firm with offices in Virginia, Maryland, and New Jersey, and which handles cases nation-wide.
A new study by Weill Cornell Medicine examined the heart health of young asylum seekers and found concerningly high rates of cardiovascular disease and other stress-related illnesses.
The study, which was published earlier this month in Nature Mental Health, “analyzed medical evaluations from 453 U.S. asylum seekers for symptoms associated with psychological stress, cardiovascular disease risk and physical pain.” “The findings surprised researchers as the median age for the asylum seekers was 30, which is young to be showing cardiovascular concerns.” (more…)