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Immigration judges rejected a record-high number of asylum cases this year, refusing 65 percent of immigrants seeking the refugee status, according to a recent report published by Syracuse University's Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse (TRAC). More than 42,000 asylum cases were decided in the fiscal year ending Sept. 30, 2018, the most since the group began tracking the data in 2001.
The rise marks the sixth consecutive year that the denial rate has increased, according to TRAC's data. In 2012, the refusal rate was 42 percent; 2018's rejection rate is nearly 50 percent larger, according to TRAC's data. The group obtained data from the Department of Homeland Security through Freedom of Information Act requests.
TRAC pointed out the increase "largely reflects asylum applicants who had arrived well before President Trump assumed office."
Immigration judges have been busier than ever before. Courts decided on 42,224 asylum cases this fiscal year, an 89 percent increase from two years ago, according to TRAC's data. There is little relief in sight: as of Sept. 30, there were more than 1 million backlogged immigration cases, including those seeking asylum.
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