Here’s a disturbing shift in asylum numbers you need to know

Here’s a disturbing shift in asylum numbers you need to know. Over the past year, asylum approval rates in Immigration Court have collapsed. In August 2024, about 38 percent of people were winning their cases. By August 2025, that number had dropped to just 19 percent. The decline didn’t start with the new administration. It began earlier and simply kept sliding. At the same time, the system was pushed harder than ever. This spring, monthly asylum decisions peaked at more than 12,000—nearly double the typical levels before. Now they’ve fallen again to just over 9,000. Meanwhile, dozens of Immigration Judges have reportedly been terminated, and for most of 2025 no new judges were hired until very recently. Here’s what actually matters for people in the system: your chances still depend enormously on which judge you get. In cities like San Francisco and New York, the gap between the judge most likely to grant asylum and the one least likely can be nearly ninety percentage points. If you want to discuss getting help with your asylum case, send the word “consult” to me in a direct message.