June 2, 2007 5:39 pm US/Eastern

Study: Miami Judges Less Likely To Grant Asylum

(CBS4) MIAMI A national study found immigration judges in Miami are far less likely to grant asylum to refugees than their peers in other major US cities.

The study released this week by three law professors found Miami's 21 immigration judges granted 23 percent of the asylum requests before them. The national average is 40 percent. According to the study, those seeking asylum from Haiti fared even worse in Miami, with 15 percent having their requests approved.

Demonstrations often take place in Miami’s streets by Haitian activists who feel they are being unfairly treated by immigration policy, which usually calls for their deportation if they make it illegally to U.S. soil. By contrast, Cuban exiles seeking asylum are usually granted legal status if they make it to dry land.

The report's authors called the findings troubling and noted remarkable variation in decisions, even among judges in the same court.

A spokesman for the Department of Justice said cases couldn't be compared to each other because each one "is a complex matter with its own set of unique facts and circumstances."

(© 2007 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report. )