Steven Thal, a local immigration attorney, wrote in today's Star Tribune about his experience over 43 years representing people with asylum claims, and what has changed during the second Trump regime. (Gift link: Immigrants vs. the deportation machine: This is America today.) He particularly emphasized the fact that domestic violence and gang violence are no longer considered grounds for asylum. Since 2025, sex or gender is not considered a "particular social group."
On top of that, Thal pointed to Trump's appointment of judges whose purpose is to carry out deportation, rather than fairly hear cases of asylum. 100 immigration judges have been fired or "pushed out," replaced by 140 sworn to uphold the Trump method:
These new appointees, termed “deportation judges” by the Department of Justice, are characterized by a lack of immigration law experience and by a focus on enforcement.
Rates of asylum-granting nationally, he says, have declined from 42% during the Biden administration to 7% (by February 2026). The woman's case Thal describes in the first half of his essay is one that any rational person would think should meet asylum grounds. But no.
His analysis fits perfectly with an infographic the Star Tribune ran a few days ago, comparing asylum cases in one month in Minnesota, 2024 vs. 2026:
The approval rate under Biden was a not-stellar 13%. Under Trump, it is 0.2%.
It was obvious this would happen when we heard news about the firing of immigration judges, knowing their replacements would be dedicated to the Trump/Miller ideology. But it is still hard seeing it come to fruition.
And now they want to have people applying for green cards return to their home countries to apply. It's nonsensical obstructionism.
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