Chance of gaining asylum depends on who's the judge

WASHINGTON — Immigration judges vary sharply in their willingness to grant asylum to foreigners seeking to live in the United States, with denial rates ranging from 10 percent to more than 98 percent, according to researchers who reviewed federal figures.

A foreigner seeking asylum in the United States is far more likely to be rejected if the case is decided by Judge Mahlon Hanson in Miami than by many other judges in the system, according to the study being released today.

From the 2000 budget year through the first months of the 2005 budget year, Hanson had the highest proportion of denials, rejecting 96.7 percent in his 1,118 decisions in cases in which the asylum seeker had a lawyer.

On the other hand, New York Judge Margaret McManus rejected just 9.8 percent of her 1,638 cases in which the asylum seeker had a lawyer.

The study is based on data from the Executive Office for Immigration Review, a Justice Department agency that oversees immigration courts, for 1994-99 and 2000-05. The report was done by the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse, which collects and analyzes federal government data.

During the 1994-99 period, Judge William Jankun of New York rejected 98.3 percent of his 1,375 cases. Multiple efforts to reach him were unsuccessful.

"The goal of any court system is evenhanded justice. It is an important goal, and the results certainly raise questions about whether that goal is being achieved," said Susan Long, a Syracuse University professor and co-director of the clearinghouse.

Attorney General Alberto Gonzales began a review of the immigration courts in January after chastising some of the immigration judges for "intemperate or even abusive" conduct toward asylum seekers. Department spokesman Charles Miller said the review is continuing.

But the study said the court data "document that this problem has existed for at least a decade and that it persists even when the applicants being compared appear to be quite similar."

The United States grants asylum to people who fear that if they are returned to their country they will face persecution because of their race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group or political opinion. Asylum was granted to 13,520 people in 2005, according to Citizenship and Immigration Services statistics.

The study's overall results show that rates were worse for asylum seekers without lawyers, with 93 percent losing their case, compared with 64 percent for those with a lawyer.

Previous studies have shown similar disparities, suggesting a lack of standards for judges, said Gideon Aranoff, president of the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society, which assists refugees. Without such standards, he said, success in asylum claims is a matter of "luck of the draw."