Immigration courts within the U.S. Department of Justice's Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR) adjudicate removal proceedings for foreign nationals (aliens) whom the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has charged with an immigration violation under the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA.) Removal proceedings in immigration court are authorized under INA Section 240. Certain foreign nationals may be removed through other processes, such as expedited removal, a streamlined removal process that allows DHS to remove certain aliens without a hearing, including recently-arrived, inadmissible aliens.
During removal proceedings, immigration judges (IJs) determine whether such individuals (respondents) are subject to removal from the United States; and if so, whether they qualify for relief or protection from removal for which they have applied (e.g., asylum and withholding of removal). Respondents who fail to appear for their hearings are ordered removed in absentia.
This Insight reviews immigration court outcomes for FY2025, including removal proceedings decisions, in absentia removal orders, and asylum application decisions.
Removal Case Decisions
Possible outcomes for removal proceedings are the following:
- Removal order: The IJ orders the respondent to be removed.
- Termination/Dismissal: The IJ may terminate cases under certain circumstances, such as when DHS's charge cannot be sustained or the respondent has obtained U.S. citizenship or a lawful immigration status after being placed in removal proceedings. An IJ may also grant a party's motion to dismiss proceedings under specified conditions.
- Relief granted: The IJ grants the respondent a form of relief from removal, such as asylum (described below) or, less commonly, cancellation of removal.
- Voluntary departure: The IJ grants the respondent's request to leave the United States during a specific timeframe at his/her own expense without being ordered removed.
- Withholding or deferral of removal: The IJ issues a removal order but grants protection under the INA or the United Nations Convention Against Torture from return to a country where the respondent's life or freedom would be threatened or where it is more likely than not that he/she would face torture. These protections provide no path to U.S. lawful permanent resident (LPR) status and permit DHS to remove the respondent to a third country.
In FY2025, EOIR issued 767,398 initial case decisions (parties may file an appeal). The most common decision was issuance of a removal order (63%), followed by dismissals and terminations (together, 27%). An unknown number of terminations/dismissals may reflect DHS policies under the Trump Administration to expand the use of expedited removal. DHS guidance has directed officials to use enforcement discretion to "terminate any ongoing removal proceeding" and apply expedited removal to aliens who may be subject to it. Terminations/dismissals may also capture other circumstances, such as when the respondent, since the initiation of proceedings, has obtained a lawful status or humanitarian protection from removal.
Approximately 5% of decisions were grants of relief (such as asylum); less than 1% were grants of withholding or deferral of removal. Voluntary departure represented 5% of outcomes.
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Source: EOIR, "FY2025 Decision Outcomes," Adjudication Statistics, November 18, 2025. Notes: N = 767,398. Figure includes outcomes for removal proceedings and deportation and exclusion proceedings, the precursor to removal proceedings. |
In Absentia Removal Orders
Individuals who fail to appear for any of their hearings must be ordered removed in absentia by the IJ if DHS presents "clear, unequivocal, and convincing evidence" that notice of the hearing was provided to the respondent and the respondent is removable. The removal order may be rescinded if the respondent demonstrates the failure to appear occurred because of exceptional circumstances (e.g., serious illness), not receiving notice, or being in federal or state custody. Among the 485,456 removal orders issued in FY2025 (Figure 1), 306,557 were in absentia removal orders.
Asylum Decisions
Individuals may qualify for asylum if they demonstrate persecution or a well-founded fear of persecution based on race, religion, nationality, political opinion, or membership in a particular social group. Generally, an individual must apply for asylum within one year of arrival in the United States. Persons granted asylum, and their spouses and minor children, may remain in the United States and are authorized to work. After one year of physical presence in the United States, they may apply to adjust to LPR status.
During removal proceedings, respondents may apply for asylum as a form of relief from removal; these defensive asylum applications are adjudicated by IJs. In addition, IJs adjudicate applications during asylum-only proceedings for individuals who may be removed without being placed in removal proceedings, including crewmembers, stowaways, and individuals who entered under the Visa Waiver Program.
Otherwise, individuals who are physically present in the United States and not in removal proceedings, regardless of their immigration status, may apply for affirmative asylum with DHS's U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). If a USCIS asylum officer determines an applicant is ineligible for asylum and appears to be inadmissible or deportable, the officer refers the application to EOIR. Therefore, EOIR's asylum outcomes include decisions on both defensive asylum applications initially filed in immigration court and affirmative referrals.
EOIR's FY2025 asylum application outcomes include asylum granted; asylum denied; applications that were abandoned, not adjudicated, and withdrawn (together comprising "Other" in Figure 2); and cases that were administratively closed. Administratively closed cases are temporarily removed from the docket (e.g., while the respondent pursues an application for an immigration benefit outside immigration court, such as with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services) until they are recalendared. EOIR does not consider administrative closures to be case completions.
In FY2025, EOIR reported 267,284 asylum decisions (Figure 2). Among those decisions, 31% were denials, 12% were grants, and more than half (54%) were "Other" outcomes. Outcomes also administratively closed cases (8%).
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Source: EOIR, "Asylum Decision Rates," Adjudication Statistics, November 18, 2025 Notes: Figure includes removal, deportation, exclusion, and asylum-only proceedings. AC = administratively closed cases. |
For analysis of data from previous fiscal years, see CRS Insight IN12501, FY2024 Immigration Court Data: Case Outcomes and CRS Insight IN12318, FY2023 Immigration Court Data: Case Outcomes.