Asylum

The flow of immigrants from the Northern Triangle countries has contributed significantly to the number of asylum filings in the United States. According to the Department of Homeland Security, in 2019, Northern Triangle immigrants made up 21.9% of all affirmative asylum cases, in which immigrants seek asylum before they are involved in deportation proceedings, but only made up 8.9% of immigrants granted affirmative asylum. In 2015, during the Obama administration, Northern Triangle immigrants made up 24.8% of affirmative asylum applications and 26.1% of immigrants granted affirmative asylum.

Weissman-Ward explained the trend, “One of the things that we have seen over the last four years is a change in agency decisions that relate to the types of asylum cases that were granted fairly routinely, and those cases are now being denied.”

For many experts, the rate of denial of asylum for Northern Triangle immigrants raises the concern of systemic bias. Weissman-Ward notes that dramatic changes in agency decision-making have occurred in the past four years during Trump’s presidency. 

In applying for asylum, immigrants are forced to endure a lengthy process, in which they must validate their need for asylum or face potential deportation. Hing highlighted the challenges faced by immigrants who are tasked with demonstrating their need for asylum and substantiating their personal stories. 

Hing said, “Their credibility is critical. A major challenge is proving their story in front of immigration judges who are very biased against granting asylum. The Trump administration has appointed immigration judges who have over 90% denial rates for asylum seekers. The cards are stacked against [asylum seekers].” 

Not only are immigrants from the Northern Triangle faced with the daunting task of reaching the U.S., but once they reach it, the current asylum system approves their asylee status at a 23% lower rate than the asylum system under the prior administration, according to the Department of Homeland Security. 

Complicating the problems that pervade the asylum and immigration systems are the massive numbers of unaccompanied children, mainly originating from the Northern Triangle, which accounted for an astounding 92% of all unaccompanied child asylum applications in 2019 and made up the majority (52%) of affirmative asylum applications from these three countries, according to the Department of Homeland Security’s Annual Flow Report September 2020 – Refugees and Asylees: 2019. High denial rates for asylum seekers have disproportionately affected unaccompanied Northern Triangle child immigrants.