Immigrants applying for asylum in Detroit’s immigration court in 2026 are granted relief in only 2% of cases, the lowest rate of successful claims at any time in the past quarter-century.
Through the end of May, just four out of 205 non-detained immigrants had won their asylum cases in Detroit, while only two of 185 detained immigrants succeeded.
The unusually low rate is due to shifts in the makeup of immigration court judges, new rulings by the Board of Immigration Appeals and last-ditch asylum cases from immigrants denied other types of relief, immigration lawyers and a legal expert told The Detroit News.
One detainee in ICE custody at the North Lake detention center in west Michigan told The News in a recent telephone interview that she has run out of hope that she can stay in the United States.
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Like her, all 166 detained immigrants who received an asylum decision from the Detroit immigration court last year were denied relief.
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Despite record demand — millions of asylum applications remain pending — the Trump administration has shifted toward a highly restrictive asylum policy in the last 18 months.
The Department of Homeland Security and the Department of Justice have removed protected status, ushered in mass hearings and expedited deportation proceedings for hundreds of thousands of immigrants.
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In Detroit, asylum rates have dropped each year since 2022, when asylum claims were successful 39% of the time during the administration of Democratic President Joe Biden. Last year, the Detroit immigration court granted relief 21% of the time, before dropping to around 2% in 2026 through the end of May.
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One major reason for declining asylum rates is that the applicants who are not in ICE custody can no longer expect to win cases at a higher rate than their detained peers.
Last year, non-detained asylum seekers in Detroit faced rejection 73% of the time, compared with a 100% denial rate for those in detention. But through the first five months of 2026, that advantage has eroded. Since the beginning of this year, about 98% to 99% of asylum seekers were denied relief, regardless of their detention status.
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“There has been, for lack of a better word, a purge of immigration judges,” Thronson said.
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The post Asylum Approvals Plunge in Detroit as U.S. Policy Tightens appeared first on American Renaissance.
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