SYRACUSE, N.Y., July 31 (UPI) -- U.S. immigration judges grant asylum at vastly different rates -- raising key questions about the uniform application of the law, a study finds.
One judge in Miami denied 96.7 percent of the asylum cases before him, the study by the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse at Syracuse University said. In contrast, a New York judge granted asylum in all but 9.8 percent of such cases.
"The data showed that while 10 percent of the judges examined denied asylum in 86 percent or more of their decisions, another 10 percent of the judges had denied asylum in only 34 percent," the study said in a summary of its findings.
The clearinghouse examined 297,240 immigration cases from fiscal year 1994 through the first few months of fiscal year 2005. The data were collected from the U.S. Justice Department, which oversees the nation's immigration courts.
"There is a shocking variability," clearinghouse Co-director Susan B. Long told The San Francisco Chronicle. "It looks like a key determination in the outcome is what judge you happen to get."
The department's Executive Office for Immigration Review would not comment on the findings, the clearinghouse said.
