Who gets asylum?

By Jude Joffe-Block, Valeria Fernandez and Kevin G. Andrade

In the summer of 2014, an unprecedented surge of Central American families and unaccompanied children crossed the U.S. border, many seeking asylum.

Federal agents dropped off many of these women and children in Arizona bus stations so they could join relatives in other parts of the country. Others were detained in newly constructed family detention centers.

“Refugee status or asylum may be granted to people who have been persecuted or fear they will be persecuted on account of race, religion, nationality, and/or membership in a particular social group or political opinion.” - U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service

Last year, almost 9,000 asylum-seekers won their cases, 9,200 lost, and close to 42,000 people began their asylum cases in U.S. immigration courts.

What accounts for these differences beyond the perspectives of the judges?

Country of origin plays a role. Lately, courts have awarded almost half of the asylum slots to people from China.

Asylum applicants are more likely to win their cases if they have an attorney and are not detained.

But attorneys are not free, and defendants do not have a right to a court appointed attorney in immigration court.

As of January 2015, immigration courts flagged more than 26,000 cases of arriving Central American adults with children for expedited processing.

More than 7,700 of these cases have been decided. Fewer than 30% of these families had attorneys in court.

About 97% of these families lost their cases. Most were ordered deported, while a small portion took voluntary departure.

The few that had an attorney, fared much better in court. More than 26% won the right to stay in the U.S., compared to 1.5% without an attorney.

Sources: Executive Office for Immigration Review, Statistics Yearbook FY 2014, Immigration Courts Asylum Receipts; Immigration Courts: Asylum Cases Completed By Disposition; Immigration Courts: Asylum Grants By Country of Nationality (March, 2015). Syracuse University's TRAC Immigration Project, Immigration Judge Reports - Asylum, FY2009-FY2014; Outcome by Representation in "Women with Children" Cases (February, 2015).