U.S. Asylum Denials Reach Record as Just 5.5% of Cases Are Approved in June

U.S. immigration courts rejected 94% of asylum applications processed in June, leaving only 5.5% with favorable decisions. The figures, released by Syracuse University’s Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse, mark an unprecedented denial rate.

Judges granted asylum to just 771 applicants during June 2026. That was less than a quarter of the approvals recorded in the same month of 2023, when 48% of cases received a favorable decision.

TRAC’s analysis shows that the rejection rate began rising near the end of former President Joe Biden’s term, reaching about 60%. The increase accelerated under the current administration, eventually reaching 94% denials.

The courts have also increased their processing capacity after hiring hundreds of new judges. They completed more than 14,000 decisions in both March and June 2026. But the pace has not been consistent. After the Trump administration dismissed numerous immigration judges, asylum decisions temporarily fell to an average of 8,800 in November and December 2025.