Immigration court
Phoenix, AZ Immigration Court
15 judges · AZ
EOIR data through Oct 1, 2026 · updated monthly
- 12,577
- Granted
- 55,432
- Denied
- 15
- Judges
Distribution
How this court's judges compare
At Phoenix, AZ, 15 judges range from 2.7% to 36.0%.
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): Phoenix, AZ Immigration Court granted asylum in 4.3% of 18,182 decided cases. That is lower than the court's all-time rate of 18.5% (68,009 decided cases). Over the same months, the national rate was 5.0%.
What people ask about Phoenix, AZ 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.
What is the asylum grant rate at Phoenix, AZ Immigration Court?
In Oct 2024 – Sep 2026, the court granted asylum in 4.3% of 18,182 decided cases (grants plus denials). Across all years in EOIR data, it granted 18.5% of 68,009 decided cases. Over the same recent months, the national rate was 5.0%.
Which judges at Phoenix, AZ Immigration Court grant asylum most often?
Among the 11 judges at this court with at least 25 decided asylum cases in Oct 2024 – Sep 2026, the highest grant rates were: Lamonte S. Freerks, 26.8% of 41 decided; Joseph S. Imburgia, 6.9% of 496 decided; and Jennifer I. Gaz, 5.3% of 2,810 decided. The median judge among them granted 4.5%.
How to Interpret This Court's Data
Court-level statistics aggregate the judges and cases assigned to the Phoenix, AZ Immigration Court, so the court average can differ sharply from any one judge's profile.
High-volume judge profiles at this court include Freerks, Lamonte S. (30,150 total cases), Richardson, John W. (28,217 total cases), and Sharda, Munish (9,350 total cases). The largest nationality groups shown for this court (fiscal years 2020–2026) include Mexico (14,846 decided, 8.3% grant rate), Guatemala (4,169 decided, 1.5% grant rate), and Venezuela (2,902 decided, 9.2% 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 Phoenix, AZ Immigration Court is the assigned filing location for 304 ZIP codes. Main cities by state:
AZ — Phoenix, Mesa, Scottsdale, Glendale, Chandler, Gilbert, Flagstaff, Surprise, Peoria, Prescott, Tempe, Casa Grande, Lake Havasu City, Apache Junction, Avondale and 174 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Freerks, Lamonte S. | 12.5% | 3,142 | 21,896 | 25,038 |
| Richardson, John W. | 20.9% | 4,781 | 18,089 | 22,870 |
| Sharda, Munish | 6.7% | 483 | 6,731 | 7,214 |
| Hollis, Wendell A. | 36.0% | 1,908 | 3,393 | 5,301 |
| Cortes, John W. | 7.9% | 452 | 5,267 | 5,719 |
| Gaz, Jennifer I. | 9.0% | 441 | 4,444 | 4,885 |
| Habich, Paul M. | 11.2% | 522 | 4,154 | 4,676 |
| Cottor, Elizabeth A | 7.7% | 319 | 3,848 | 4,167 |
| Arellano, Silvia R. | 11.0% | 452 | 3,660 | 4,112 |
| Guerrero, Marni | 7.1% | 263 | 3,425 | 3,688 |
| Karlen, Melissa Beth | 8.8% | 325 | 3,364 | 3,689 |
| Imburgia, Joseph S. | 4.4% | 134 | 2,942 | 3,076 |
| Kuipers, Benjamin | 2.7% | 6 | 217 | 223 |
| Josephson, Kenneth | 15.3% | 23 | 127 | 150 |
| Zhang, Xinzhe | 3.5% | 5 | 137 | 142 |
Approval Rate by Nationality
Fiscal years 2020–2026 (Oct 2019 – Sep 2026).
| Nationality | Approval Rate | Granted | Denied | Decided |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mexico | 8.3% | 1,229 | 13,617 | 14,846 |
| Guatemala | 1.5% | 64 | 4,105 | 4,169 |
| Venezuela | 9.2% | 267 | 2,635 | 2,902 |
| Honduras | 1.6% | 27 | 1,642 | 1,669 |
| Colombia | 1.7% | 21 | 1,231 | 1,252 |
| Nicaragua | 6.0% | 59 | 917 | 976 |
| Cuba | 28.4% | 154 | 389 | 543 |
| El Salvador | 4.1% | 19 | 449 | 468 |
| Romania | 8.3% | 28 | 310 | 338 |
| Ecuador | 1.0% | 3 | 300 | 303 |
| Peru | 1.5% | 4 | 266 | 270 |
| Turkey | 7.9% | 10 | 117 | 127 |
| Haiti | 1.1% | 1 | 88 | 89 |
| Russia | 73.0% | 65 | 24 | 89 |
| Afghanistan | 28.0% | 23 | 59 | 82 |
| China | 43.6% | 34 | 44 | 78 |
| Cameroon | 57.6% | 38 | 28 | 66 |
| Dominican Republic | 1.7% | 1 | 58 | 59 |
| India | 17.9% | 10 | 46 | 56 |
| Iraq | 71.4% | 40 | 16 | 56 |
| Jamaica | 11.5% | 6 | 46 | 52 |
| Nigeria | 33.3% | 17 | 34 | 51 |
| Kenya | 56.2% | 27 | 21 | 48 |
| Brazil | 17.5% | 7 | 33 | 40 |
| Philippines | 20.0% | 6 | 24 | 30 |
| Rwanda | 50.0% | 15 | 15 | 30 |
| Bolivia | 0.0% | 0 | 21 | 21 |
| Guinea | 19.0% | 4 | 17 | 21 |
| Democratic Republic Of Congo | 21.1% | 4 | 15 | 19 |
| Iran | 83.3% | 15 | 3 | 18 |
| Jordan | 11.8% | 2 | 15 | 17 |
| Vietnam | 26.7% | 4 | 11 | 15 |
| Panama | 0.0% | 0 | 14 | 14 |
| Pakistan | 15.4% | 2 | 11 | 13 |
| Belize | 0.0% | 0 | 12 | 12 |
| Burundi | 25.0% | 3 | 9 | 12 |
| Israel | 18.2% | 2 | 9 | 11 |
| Egypt | 80.0% | 8 | 2 | 10 |
| Somalia | 20.0% | 2 | 8 | 10 |
| Chile | 0.0% | 0 | 9 | 9 |
| Canada | 14.3% | 1 | 6 | 7 |
| Sudan | 0.0% | 0 | 7 | 7 |
| Costa Rica | 0.0% | 0 | 6 | 6 |
| Ghana | 0.0% | 0 | 6 | 6 |
| Morocco | 0.0% | 0 | 6 | 6 |
| Slovenia | 0.0% | 0 | 6 | 6 |
| Unknown Nationality | 0.0% | 0 | 6 | 6 |
| Bosnia-Herzegovina | 80.0% | 4 | 1 | 5 |
| Congo | 100.0% | 5 | 0 | 5 |
| Argentina | 0.0% | 0 | 5 | 5 |
| Angola | 0.0% | 0 | 5 | 5 |
| Syria | 40.0% | 2 | 3 | 5 |
| Bangladesh | 0.0% | 0 | 4 | 4 |
| Senegal | 25.0% | 1 | 3 | 4 |
| Kuwait | 0.0% | 0 | 3 | 3 |
| Bulgaria | 100.0% | 2 | 0 | 2 |