Minnesota asylum approvals drop sharply under Trump
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Minnesota's federal immigration court has rejected asylum applications in record numbers since President Trump returned to office, new data shows.
The big picture: Asylum claims have always faced long odds, but attorneys and immigrant rights groups believe the spike in denials reflects pressure by the Trump administration on federal judges, as the Star Tribune and MinnPost recently reported.
- Courts are plowing through a backlog of nearly 3.3 million immigration cases.
By the numbers: The Fort Snelling Immigration Court has resolved nearly as many asylum cases since Trump's reelection (~7,500) as during the entire Biden administration (~8,500).
- Under Biden, the court granted asylum in around 13% of cases, according to an Axios analysis of immigration case data tracked by Mobile Pathways.
- Since 2025, the court's approval rate has dropped to under 2%.
Plus: As the odds of success grow longer, migrants are increasingly abandoning their asylum claims.
- Nearly 2,200 asylum-seekers have abandoned their claims since Trump's reelection, compared with the roughly 900 who did so during Biden's four years.
Zoom in: Asylum cases are filed by immigrants who must prove credible fears they'd face persecution in their home countries. Federal law allows them to remain in the U.S while their cases are decided.
- The backlog — swollen by a wave of claims made during a surge in border crossings in 2021 and 2022 — means many asylum-seekers wait years for a decision.
Friction points: The delays and growing numbers have fed criticism from Trump and his allies.
- Proponents of stronger immigration enforcement say migrants are abusing the asylum process to work in the U.S. — and take jobs from citizens.
State of the dockets: The Trump administration has been leaning on immigration judges to issue deportation orders in asylum cases, former court employees told the Star Tribune.
- Last year, 55 immigration judges were fired, and another 80 retired, Axios has previously reported.
- Attorneys and advocates fear a rubber-stamp denial process for asylum claims could jeopardize migrants' lives.
Case in point: "I thought the judge would understand that the only future I had in Somalia was death by the hands of my in-laws and their powerful clan," one asylum seeker told MinnPost.
- Instead, his claim was denied after a 15-minute online hearing.
A U.S. Department of Justice spokesperson told the Strib that judges are trained thoroughly and expected to be impartial.
Go deeper via the Star Tribune … and MinnPost