In the past decade from the 2014 fiscal year to April 2024, records from immigration courts show that immigration judges in the United States have made rulings on slightly over 1 million asylum cases, with a approval rate of two-thirds.
According to the “Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse” (TRAC) at Syracuse University, immigration courts have rendered decisions on 1,047,134 deportation cases in the past 10 years. Judges found 685,956 individuals had a legal basis to stay in the United States, while 332,552 were ordered to be deported, and 28,626 were issued voluntary departure orders.
Therefore, over the past decade, only one-third (34%) of immigrants in the deportation process after applying for asylum have been ordered to leave the country, while two-thirds (66%) have been allowed to remain in the United States.
This period spanned three US presidencies: during the Obama administration, among immigrants who applied for asylum and had rulings on their cases from the 2014 to 2016 fiscal years, 68% were deemed to have legal residency rights, while 29% saw their applications rejected and were ordered to leave the country.
Under the Trump administration, an average of 57% of asylum applicants were ordered to be deported, while 43% were allowed to stay.
The Biden administration has further intensified efforts in the processing of asylum applications, leading to more individuals being granted asylum or other forms of relief. As of April 2024, the average approval rate for staying in the US has increased to 77%, while the rate of deportation orders has dropped to 22%.
However, after the first year, many asylum applications were terminated without a ruling. The Biden administration has shifted focus to accelerate the adjudication of new cases, sending a signal to deter those without legitimate reasons seeking asylum from entering the Southwest border.