People who request asylum after entering the United States illegally are much more likely to be denied than approved. That information comes from the U.S. Department of Justice. Out of around 120,000 asylum requests by people who entered the country illegally in 2017, only about 7,000 were approved. That makes Sergio very lucky. Sergio is a 64-year-old man from Mexico who asked to only be known by his first name. In Spanish, he told VOA his reasoning for coming to the U.S. “I came to the United States in 1992 because there was not a lot of work down there,” he said. But under the “zero tolerance” policy of the administration of President Donald Trump, Sergio was targeted for deportation. That happened after he was arrested for drunkenness in May of last year. Asylum requests that are made after an illegal entry are called “defensive asylum” requests. They are handled by the Department of Justice. Asylum requests made by people who came to the U.S. legally are called “affirmative asylum” requests.