US Government Moves 445,000 Asylum Cases to Court as Approvals Drops
- Ghanaians and other migrants in the US have received a fresh immigration update under the Trump administration
- A major change involving thousands of pending asylum cases could affect how some applications are handled
- The latest figures also show a significant shift in asylum decisions and deportation orders
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Ghanaians and other migrants seeking asylum in the United States have received a major immigration update under President Donald Trump’s administration.
The US government has introduced measures that could move hundreds of thousands of pending asylum cases towards immigration courts, where applicants could face removal proceedings.
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The development comes as asylum approval rates have fallen sharply while immigration judges have issued a growing number of removal orders.
Trump moves over 445,000 asylum cases to court
The Trump administration introduced a rule in July 2026 that could affect up to 444,000 asylum cases.
Under the change, certain asylum applications that would previously have been handled by US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) can instead be referred directly to immigration judges for removal proceedings.
The administration said the measure was intended to address a large backlog of asylum cases and speed up the adjudication process.
However, immigrant advocates and some experts have argued that transferring cases to immigration courts could expose more asylum seekers to detention and deportation.
Asylum approvals fall below 6%
Data from the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse (TRAC) shows that the proportion of asylum cases approved by immigration judges has fallen significantly.
In June 2026, only 5.5% of asylum cases were granted, while 94.1% were denied. TRAC said the grant rate represented an all-time low in its data covering the period examined.
The data also showed that immigration courts were completing cases at much higher levels, with more than 14,000 asylum decisions recorded in June.
Deportation orders increase
The changes come alongside a sharp increase in removal orders issued by US immigration courts.
TRAC reported that immigration courts recorded 100,773 case closures in June 2026, with removal orders accounting for a growing share of completed cases.
Removal orders increased to nearly 79,000 in June, up from about 60,000 during March, April and May.
A Washington Post analysis of immigration court records separately reported that judges had ordered more than 440,000 asylum seekers removed during Trump's first 19 months back in office.
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What the changes mean for Ghanaians
The developments could be relevant to Ghanaians who have pending asylum cases in the United States, particularly those whose applications are referred to immigration court.
However, the figures do not mean that 444,000 Ghanaians are affected. The figure covers asylum cases involving migrants from different nationalities.
Available nationality-level data show that Ghanaian nationals have also had asylum cases decided in US immigration courts.
As of August 31, 2026, data compiled from EOIR records showed 5,355 decisions involving Ghanaian applicants, with 1,617 grants and 3,738 denials over the period covered.
The outcome of an individual case depends on the applicant's circumstances, evidence, legal arguments and other factors. The broader US policy changes therefore do not automatically mean that every Ghanaian with a pending asylum application will be deported.
US immigration crackdown continues
The latest asylum changes form part of a wider immigration enforcement push under the Trump administration.
The administration has also pursued policies aimed at increasing removals and accelerating immigration proceedings.
The US Supreme Court is currently set to consider a separate legal challenge over the administration's policy of denying bond hearings to certain detained immigrants while they await deportation proceedings.
For Ghanaians with ongoing immigration or asylum proceedings in the US, the latest developments underline the importance of monitoring official notices and court dates and seeking qualified immigration legal advice where necessary.
200,000 Ghanaians in the US face deportation
YEN.com.gh earlier reported that approximately 200,000 Ghanaians residing in the United States were facing deportation.
The news had triggered widespread concern among Ghanaian communities in the US and back home.
Social media had also been flooded with reactions from Ghanaians responding to the development.
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Source: YEN.com.gh
