<< Back to: Asylum Outcome Increasingly Depends on Judge Assigned

Table 1. Asylum Decision Disparity by Immigration Court

Immigration Court* Asylum Decisions Number of Judges* Judge Denial Rate
Lowest Highest Range
New York 37,970 31 2.2 59.0 56.8
Los Angeles 13,052 33 21.8 97.1 75.3
San Francisco 6,524 17 15.3 97.7 82.4
Arlington 3,717 7 17.4 88.5 71.1
Baltimore 3,468 6 2.6 58.2 55.6
Seattle 3,064 5 52.6 70.0 17.4
Miami 2,935 12 50.9 84.4 33.5
Orlando 2,802 6 56.5 75.2 18.7
Houston 2,674 7 66.7 96.0 29.3
Boston 2,244 8 19.4 56.9 37.5
Chicago 2,243 7 40.9 95.7 54.8
Atlanta 1,738 5 70.8 97.7 26.9
San Diego 1,720 8 37.9 93.0 55.1
Miami - Krome 1,680 6 90.5 97.8 7.3
Newark 1,557 6 15.7 98.6 82.9
San Antonio 1,495 6 23.9 96.6 72.7
Adelanto 1,420 6 75.2 91.8 16.6
Cleveland 1,382 3 62.5 89.9 27.4
Memphis 1,382 3 52.5 84.5 32.0
Los Fresnos 1,371 3 74.5 78.0 3.5
Dallas 1,211 4 69.3 93.2 23.9
Charlotte 1,191 3 71.6 84.5 12.9
Philadelphia 1,182 4 22.4 50.5 28.1
Tacoma 1,180 3 71.3 73.2 1.9
Bloomington 1,053 3 71.8 97.2 25.4
El Paso 1,042 5 93.7 99.4 5.7
Omaha 1,012 3 70.4 88.2 17.8
Portland 1,012 2 48.7 57.6 8.9
Detroit 952 4 71.0 81.7 10.7
Hartford 892 2 44.7 72.6 27.9
Honolulu 889 2 26.4 36.5 10.1
Elizabeth 880 2 44.8 72.2 27.4
Denver 879 4 35.3 63.9 28.6
Eloy 751 4 90.4 97.4 7.0
Las Vegas 638 2 83.4 88.6 5.2
Houston - Detained 581 4 87.1 100.0 12.9
York 572 3 75.6 90.4 14.8
Kansas City 562 2 63.4 69.4 6.0
Buffalo 557 3 76.4 87.1 10.7
Pearsall 524 3 79.4 85.0 5.6
Oakdale 495 3 93.1 100.0 6.9
Lumpkin 479 2 95.8 96.3 0.5
Florence 407 2 90.2 91.8 1.6
Harlingen 393 2 47.8 58.8 11.0
Tucson 325 2 53.4 63.6 10.2
New Orleans 304 2 55.8 72.0 16.2
Phoenix 268 2 14.3 63.6 49.3
Aurora 233 2 77.6 96.3 18.7
* Courts with at least 2 judges who decided 100 or more asylum cases during FY 2010 - FY 2016. See Appendix Table for denial rates for each judge.