Asylum Outcome Largely Determined by Immigration Judge
In the last six years, the average asylum decision has worsened by 27 percent. The typical asylum seeker might have only a 15 percent chance of being granted asylum all the way up to a 71 percent chance depending on the particular judge assigned to the case. The increasing backlog of cases has heightened the pressures to expedite proceedings. Other administrative courts that face the same pressure for quick processing of cases have unintentionally increased the decision imbalance. The pressures on immigration judges to speed decision making, in conjunction with the reduced available time for discussion on challenges in asylum cases may also have an effect on the increasing asylum decision disparities that have occurred.