Immigration court
Boston, MA Immigration Court
34 judges · MA
EOIR data through Oct 1, 2026 · updated monthly
- 35,496
- Granted
- 94,991
- Denied
- 34
- Judges
Distribution
How this court's judges compare
At Boston, MA, 32 judges range from 0.8% to 65.5%.
Each judge's all-time EOIR decided outcomes across every court they have served in: granted ÷ (granted + denied). Judges now based at this court with at least 100 decided cases. A historical pattern — not a prediction for any case.
Recent decisions (Oct 2024 – Sep 2026): Boston, MA Immigration Court granted asylum in 13.7% of 17,679 decided cases. That is lower than the court's all-time rate of 27.2% (130,487 decided cases). Over the same months, the national rate was 5.0%.
What people ask about Boston, MA Immigration Court
These are the questions people asked most about this court from Apr 2026 to Oct 2026. The answers come from EOIR immigration court data and ICE arrest records.
What is the asylum grant rate at Boston, MA Immigration Court?
In Oct 2024 – Sep 2026, the court granted asylum in 13.7% of 17,679 decided cases (grants plus denials). Across all years in EOIR data, it granted 27.2% of 130,487 decided cases. Over the same recent months, the national rate was 5.0%.
Which judges at Boston, MA Immigration Court grant asylum most often?
Among the 16 judges at this court with at least 25 decided asylum cases in Oct 2024 – Sep 2026, the highest grant rates were: Maureen O'Sullivan, 81.3% of 305 decided; Hannah Kubica, 37.2% of 180 decided; and Sarah Cade, 34.7% of 271 decided. The median judge among them granted 9.1%.
How many ICE arrests are recorded in Boston, Massachusetts?
ICE recorded 271 arrests in Boston, Massachusetts from Aug 2025 to Jul 2026, 28 of them in Jul 2026. The highest month in these records, which start in Oct 2022, was Sep 2025 with 70. These are arrests anywhere in the city, not only at the immigration court.
How often does Boston, MA Immigration Court grant motions?
Across all years of EOIR motion records for this court, the most common decided motions were: Motion for Continuance, granted in 69.8% of 40,875; Motion to Terminate, granted in 75.1% of 26,986; and Motion to Withdraw as Counsel, granted in 87.5% of 26,681. The rate counts every decided motion, including outcomes other than granted or denied.
How to Interpret This Court's Data
Court-level statistics aggregate the judges and cases assigned to the Boston, MA Immigration Court, so the court average can differ sharply from any one judge's profile.
High-volume judge profiles at this court include Shapiro, Leonard I. (20,284 total cases), O'Malley, Brenda (13,736 total cases), and Gagnon, Paul M. (13,692 total cases). The largest nationality groups shown for this court (fiscal years 2020–2026) include Brazil (16,174 decided, 13.9% grant rate), Guatemala (5,851 decided, 43.1% grant rate), and El Salvador (3,683 decided, 53.6% grant rate).
Asylum grant rate is calculated as granted / (granted + denied). Procedural outcomes are separated so users can distinguish merits decisions from docket-management outcomes.
This page uses public EOIR records last updated 2026-10-01. The data is informational and should not be treated as legal advice or a prediction for any individual case.
Read how EOIR data works or learn how to compare asylum approval rates.
Areas Served by This Court
Based on the official EOIR ZIP-code assignment, the Boston, MA Immigration Court is the assigned filing location for 286 ZIP codes. Main cities by state:
MA — Boston, Cambridge, Fall River, New Bedford, Dorchester, Quincy, Somerville, Waltham, Arlington, Bridgewater, Brockton, Brookline, Buzzards Bay, Lexington, Nantucket and 229 more cities
Not sure which immigration court serves your address? Enter your ZIP code in the AsylumTracker app's coverage map.
Judges at This Court
| Judge | Approval Rate | Granted | Denied | Decided |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shapiro, Leonard I. | 27.4% | 4,095 | 10,842 | 14,937 |
| O'Malley, Brenda | 38.1% | 3,405 | 5,525 | 8,930 |
| Gagnon, Paul M. | 28.0% | 2,899 | 7,448 | 10,347 |
| D'Angelo, Matthew J. | 24.2% | 1,923 | 6,034 | 7,957 |
| O'Sullivan, Maureen | 65.5% | 3,927 | 2,069 | 5,996 |
| Sturla, Mario J. | 16.7% | 1,262 | 6,310 | 7,572 |
| Sheppard, Patricia | 24.8% | 1,844 | 5,581 | 7,425 |
| Masters, Todd A. | 14.2% | 688 | 4,147 | 4,835 |
| Furlong, John M., JR. | 13.0% | 445 | 2,987 | 3,432 |
| Kahan, Michelle | 9.4% | 383 | 3,676 | 4,059 |
| Cramer, Francis L. | 20.0% | 810 | 3,248 | 4,058 |
| Cade, Sarah | 32.4% | 742 | 1,545 | 2,287 |
| Day, Steven F. | 9.1% | 311 | 3,123 | 3,434 |
| Tregerman, Gwendylan E. | 21.5% | 593 | 2,161 | 2,754 |
| Joyce, William | 34.7% | 895 | 1,682 | 2,577 |
| Donovan, Mark D. | 17.6% | 310 | 1,452 | 1,762 |
| Kubica, Hannah | 29.7% | 196 | 465 | 661 |
| Gover, Erin | 32.8% | 435 | 890 | 1,325 |
| Patel, Roopal | 25.0% | 322 | 966 | 1,288 |
| Sady, Michael | 25.5% | 163 | 476 | 639 |
| Sanchez, Jose A. | 15.3% | 90 | 497 | 587 |
| Jalelian, Lincoln S. | 29.6% | 162 | 385 | 547 |
| Glass, Andrew J. | 16.1% | 66 | 345 | 411 |
| Rusher, Marna M | 27.5% | 122 | 321 | 443 |
| Mulcahy, Jennifer A | 11.4% | 40 | 312 | 352 |
| Roe, Adrian N. | 43.5% | 145 | 188 | 333 |
| Karram, Omar Z. | 1.6% | 5 | 301 | 306 |
| Gillespie, Taylor | 0.8% | 2 | 238 | 240 |
| Jaysura, Tanzania | 1.2% | 3 | 251 | 254 |
| Walter, Patricia W. | 1.8% | 4 | 215 | 219 |
| Rivera, Tamaira | 36.3% | 61 | 107 | 168 |
| Santen, Sean D. | 37.2% | 45 | 76 | 121 |
| Jergovic, Nicole | 1.2% | 1 | 80 | 81 |
| Young, Eric O. | 21.7% | 5 | 18 | 23 |
Roster entries without a usable profile denominator: Visiting Judge 12, Visiting Judge 13, Visiting Judge 20. They are excluded from the rate table above.
Approval Rate by Nationality
Fiscal years 2020–2026 (Oct 2019 – Sep 2026).
| Nationality | Approval Rate | Granted | Denied | Decided |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brazil | 13.9% | 2,245 | 13,929 | 16,174 |
| Guatemala | 43.1% | 2,524 | 3,327 | 5,851 |
| El Salvador | 53.6% | 1,975 | 1,708 | 3,683 |
| Colombia | 11.6% | 279 | 2,123 | 2,402 |
| Honduras | 35.5% | 809 | 1,467 | 2,276 |
| Dominican Republic | 10.8% | 225 | 1,857 | 2,082 |
| Ecuador | 32.2% | 653 | 1,376 | 2,029 |
| Haiti | 9.8% | 170 | 1,565 | 1,735 |
| Mexico | 35.4% | 243 | 444 | 687 |
| Angola | 58.0% | 339 | 245 | 584 |
| Venezuela | 20.3% | 78 | 306 | 384 |
| Peru | 26.5% | 82 | 227 | 309 |
| Democratic Republic Of Congo | 43.3% | 113 | 148 | 261 |
| Nicaragua | 15.3% | 38 | 211 | 249 |
| Uganda | 79.7% | 185 | 47 | 232 |
| Turkey | 25.9% | 57 | 163 | 220 |
| India | 27.5% | 57 | 150 | 207 |
| China | 61.1% | 124 | 79 | 203 |
| Russia | 67.4% | 130 | 63 | 193 |
| Chile | 9.3% | 17 | 165 | 182 |
| Jamaica | 21.2% | 34 | 126 | 160 |
| Congo | 43.4% | 69 | 90 | 159 |
| Cape Verde | 33.3% | 49 | 98 | 147 |
| Dominica | 0.0% | 0 | 115 | 115 |
| Nigeria | 50.5% | 56 | 55 | 111 |
| Egypt | 74.0% | 77 | 27 | 104 |
| Ghana | 53.8% | 56 | 48 | 104 |
| Kenya | 63.1% | 65 | 38 | 103 |
| Indonesia | 85.7% | 78 | 13 | 91 |
| Cameroon | 84.1% | 69 | 13 | 82 |
| Portugal | 14.6% | 12 | 70 | 82 |
| Nepal | 75.7% | 56 | 18 | 74 |
| Burundi | 83.6% | 51 | 10 | 61 |
| United Kingdom | 10.5% | 6 | 51 | 57 |
| Pakistan | 39.6% | 21 | 32 | 53 |
| Bolivia | 71.4% | 35 | 14 | 49 |
| Romania | 15.2% | 7 | 39 | 46 |
| Unknown Nationality | 52.2% | 24 | 22 | 46 |
| Rwanda | 85.0% | 34 | 6 | 40 |
| Belarus | 92.3% | 36 | 3 | 39 |
| Lebanon | 48.7% | 19 | 20 | 39 |
| Syria | 63.2% | 24 | 14 | 38 |
| Bangladesh | 69.4% | 25 | 11 | 36 |
| Cuba | 31.4% | 11 | 24 | 35 |
| Vietnam | 57.1% | 20 | 15 | 35 |
| Moldavia (Moldova) | 84.8% | 28 | 5 | 33 |
| Cambodia | 65.6% | 21 | 11 | 32 |
| Iraq | 86.7% | 26 | 4 | 30 |
| Ireland | 3.3% | 1 | 29 | 30 |
| Morocco | 40.7% | 11 | 16 | 27 |
| Ukraine | 81.5% | 22 | 5 | 27 |
| Liberia | 46.2% | 12 | 14 | 26 |
| Azerbaijan | 33.3% | 8 | 16 | 24 |
| Afghanistan | 9.1% | 2 | 20 | 22 |
| Djibouti | 85.7% | 18 | 3 | 21 |
| Albania | 70.0% | 14 | 6 | 20 |
| Canada | 5.3% | 1 | 18 | 19 |
| Senegal | 43.8% | 7 | 9 | 16 |
| United Arab Emirates | 60.0% | 9 | 6 | 15 |
| Spain | 6.7% | 1 | 14 | 15 |
| Sri Lanka | 7.1% | 1 | 13 | 14 |
| Trinidad And Tobago | 30.8% | 4 | 9 | 13 |
| Ethiopia | 92.3% | 12 | 1 | 13 |
| Panama | 38.5% | 5 | 8 | 13 |
| Turkmenistan | 23.1% | 3 | 10 | 13 |
| Sudan | 66.7% | 8 | 4 | 12 |
| Thailand | 41.7% | 5 | 7 | 12 |
| Poland | 63.6% | 7 | 4 | 11 |
| Burkina Faso | 63.6% | 7 | 4 | 11 |
| Belize | 18.2% | 2 | 9 | 11 |
| Iran | 60.0% | 6 | 4 | 10 |
| Somalia | 40.0% | 4 | 6 | 10 |
| Eritrea | 100.0% | 10 | 0 | 10 |
| Guinea | 77.8% | 7 | 2 | 9 |
| Jordan | 57.1% | 4 | 3 | 7 |
| Argentina | 14.3% | 1 | 6 | 7 |
| Saudi Arabia | 83.3% | 5 | 1 | 6 |
| Namibia | 66.7% | 4 | 2 | 6 |
| Gambia | 100.0% | 5 | 0 | 5 |
| Algeria | 0.0% | 0 | 5 | 5 |
| France | 0.0% | 0 | 5 | 5 |
| Georgia | 0.0% | 0 | 5 | 5 |
| Italy | 0.0% | 0 | 5 | 5 |
| Ivory Coast (Cote D'Ivoire) | 75.0% | 3 | 1 | 4 |
| Zimbabwe | 50.0% | 2 | 2 | 4 |
| Mali | 100.0% | 4 | 0 | 4 |