North Carolina, Raleigh –  Only one in ten asylum cases were approved in Charlotte Immigration Court during the 2017-2022 fiscal period, according to data released by the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse (TRAC). 

TRAC analyzed a total of 3,210 asylum case decisions over a six-year span, and found that among all judges, 315 asylum cases were approved.

Charlotte Immigration Court, which judge denied the most asylum cases?

According to data from TRAC, Judge George Riggs of the Charlotte Immigration Court was the one who denied the most asylums.

Judge Riggs, who decided 557 asylum cases, approved 2.3%, and denied 97.7%.

For his part, Judge Rodger C. Harris stands out as the judge who granted the most asylums with 108 approvals, 17.5% of the total cases 621 decisions he made.

Charlotte Immigration Court denied 90% of asylum cases from 2016 to 2021.

Decisions made in Charlotte Immigration Court

Below, we share a table showing the number of decisions made in asylum cases by each Charlotte Immigration Court judge. As well as the approval and denial rate of the cases that each one attended:

Judge Riggs, nationwide comparison

Compared to Judge Riggs' denial rate of 97.7%, Immigration Court judges nationwide denied 63.8% of asylum claims during this same period, according to TRAC analysis.

Judges at Charlotte Immigration Court, where Judge Riggs decided these cases, denied asylum 89.8 percent of the time.

Judge Riggs' asylum granting and denial rates are compared to other judges serving on the same court.

Why do denial rates vary among judges?

Although denial rates depend on each judge's judicial philosophy, denial rates also depend on other factors, such as the types of cases the judge has, the detention status of immigrant claimants, and current immigration policies and others. factors that are beyond the control of each judge.

TRAC mentioned in its report that it found that legal representation and the nationality of the asylum seeker are just two factors that appear to influence the outcomes of asylum decisions.

Likewise, the composition of cases can differ significantly between the country's Immigration Courts.

Random assignment of asylum cases

Within the same Court, when cases are randomly assigned to the judges who are part of it, each judge should have a more or less similar composition of cases, given a sufficient number of asylum cases, TRAC noted.

Therefore, variations in asylum decisions among judges in the same immigration court appear to reflect, at least in part, the judicial philosophy that the judge brings to the court.

However, if a court's judges are assigned to specialized dockets or hearing venues, the composition of cases is likely to remain different and may contribute to differences in asylum denial rates.

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Charlotte immigration court approves only one in ten asylum cases

by Walter Gomez, Enlace Latino NC
December 1, 2022

Enlace Latino NCDecember 1, 2022 North Carolina, Raleigh - Only one in ten asylum cases was approved in the Charlotte Immigration Court during the fiscal year 2017-2022, according to data published by Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse (TRAC).TRAC analyzed a total of 3,210 asylum case decisions over a six-year period, and found that 315 of these cases were approved by all judges. Charlotte Immigration Court, which judge denied the most asylum cases? According to TRAC data, Judge George Riggs of the Charlotte Immigration Court denied the most asylum applications. Judge Riggs, who decided on 557 asylum cases, approved 2.3% and denied 97.7%. For his part, Judge Rodger C. Harris stands out as the judge who granted the most asylum cases with 108 approvals, 17.5% of the total cases and 621 decisions he made. Charlotte Immigration Court denied 90% of asylum cases from 90 to 2016. Decisions made at the Charlotte Immigration Court Below we share a table showing the number of decisions made in asylum cases by each judge at the Charlotte Immigration Court. As well as the approval and denial rate of the cases that each one attended: Judge Decisions % Approval % Denial George W. Riggs 557 2.3 97.7 V. Stuart Couch 574 5.6 94.3 Amy T. Lee 269 5.9 93.7 Barry J. Pettinato 492 6.5 92.7 Maria Lopez-Enriquez 110 13.6 85.5 Jeffery Nance 256 13.7 85.2 Theresa Holmes S. 422 15.6 83.4 Rodger C. Harris 610 17.5 81.5 Source: TRAC Judge Riggs, national comparison Compared to Judge Riggs’ 2% denial rate, Immigration Court judges nationwide denied 2% of asylum claims during this same period, according to TRAC’s analysis. Judges at the Charlotte Immigration Court, where Judge Riggs decided these cases, denied asylum 97.7 percent of the time. Judge Riggs' asylum grant and denial rates are compared to those of other judges serving on the same court. Why do denial rates vary among judges? While denial rates depend on each judge's judicial philosophy, denial rates also depend on other factors, such as the types of cases the judge has, the detention status of immigrant plaintiffs, and current immigration policies and other factors beyond each judge's control. You may be interested in: What is the strategy of community organizations to get Latinos to go out and vote in North Carolina? TRAC mentioned in its report that it found that legal representation and the nationality of the asylum seeker are just two factors that appear to influence the outcomes of asylum decisions. Furthermore, the composition of cases can differ significantly between Immigration Courts across the country. Random assignment of asylum cases Within a single Tribunal, when cases are randomly assigned to the judges sitting on it, each judge should have a roughly similar caseload, given a sufficient number of asylum cases, TRAC noted. Variations in asylum decisions among judges in the same immigration court therefore appear to reflect, at least in part, the judicial philosophy that the judge brings to the court. However, if judges in a court are assigned to specialized files or hearing venues, the composition of cases is likely to remain different and may contribute to differences in asylum denial rates. This article first appeared onEnlace Latino NCand is republished here under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License . PARSELY = { autotrack: false, onload: function() { PARSELY.beacon.trackPageView({ url: "https://enlacelatinonc.org/corte-de-inmigracion-de-charlotte-aprueba-solo-uno-cada-diez-casos-de-asilo/", urlref: window.location.href }); } }

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