Immigration court
San Diego, CA Immigration Court
23 judges · CA
EOIR data through Oct 1, 2026 · updated monthly
- 36,211
- Granted
- 144,941
- Denied
- 23
- Judges
Distribution
How this court's judges compare
At San Diego, CA, 20 judges range from 2.4% to 51.9%.
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): San Diego, CA Immigration Court granted asylum in 7.3% of 5,261 decided cases. That is lower than the court's all-time rate of 20.0% (181,152 decided cases). Over the same months, the national rate was 5.0%.
What people ask about San Diego, CA 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.
Which judges at San Diego, CA Immigration Court grant asylum most often?
Among the 12 judges at this court with at least 25 decided asylum cases in Oct 2024 – Sep 2026, the highest grant rates were: Rico J. Bartolomei, 39.3% of 107 decided; George R. Najjar, 30.3% of 188 decided; and Meghan E. Heesch, 15.2% of 625 decided. The median judge among them granted 7.4%.
How many ICE arrests are recorded in San Diego, California?
ICE recorded 9,091 arrests in San Diego, California from Aug 2025 to Jul 2026, 1,054 of them in Jul 2026. That is the highest month in these records, which start in Oct 2022. These are arrests anywhere in the city, not only at the immigration court.
How to Interpret This Court's Data
Court-level statistics aggregate the judges and cases assigned to the San Diego, CA Immigration Court, so the court average can differ sharply from any one judge's profile.
High-volume judge profiles at this court include Williams, John C. (33,732 total cases), Barrett, Robert J. (30,832 total cases), and Bagley, Kenneth A. (25,487 total cases). The largest nationality groups shown for this court (fiscal years 2020–2026) include Mexico (3,692 decided, 12.9% grant rate), Guatemala (2,717 decided, 3.4% grant rate), and Honduras (1,002 decided, 3.4% 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 San Diego, CA Immigration Court is the assigned filing location for 105 ZIP codes. Main cities by state:
CA — San Diego, Chula Vista, Carlsbad, Oceanside, El Cajon, La Jolla, San Marcos, Vista, Escondido, La Mesa, Rancho Santa Fe, Spring Valley, Alpine, Anza, Bonita and 33 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Williams, John C. | 16.4% | 4,704 | 24,041 | 28,745 |
| Barrett, Robert J. | 13.0% | 3,417 | 22,855 | 26,272 |
| Bagley, Kenneth A. | 12.9% | 2,738 | 18,491 | 21,229 |
| Bartolomei, Rico J. | 19.6% | 2,443 | 10,002 | 12,445 |
| Atenaide, Anthony | 15.9% | 2,276 | 12,069 | 14,345 |
| Fernandez, Ignacio P. | 23.6% | 2,942 | 9,506 | 12,448 |
| Devitto, James | 6.3% | 584 | 8,630 | 9,214 |
| Boone, Gaylyn N. | 51.9% | 4,422 | 4,096 | 8,518 |
| Ragusa, Joseph M. | 30.6% | 2,182 | 4,947 | 7,129 |
| Watkins, Henry G. | 2.4% | 129 | 5,161 | 5,290 |
| Simpson, Scott | 7.1% | 189 | 2,467 | 2,656 |
| Glaser-Allen, Colleen | 36.7% | 11 | 19 | 30 |
| Penalosa, Jose L., JR. | 9.1% | 253 | 2,524 | 2,777 |
| Attia, Olga E. | 5.3% | 97 | 1,733 | 1,830 |
| Halliday-Roberts, Catherine E. | 10.9% | 201 | 1,635 | 1,836 |
| Anderson, Amelia | 14.6% | 255 | 1,491 | 1,746 |
| Heesch, Meghan E. | 14.6% | 133 | 775 | 908 |
| Pepi, Lindsay W. | 8.0% | 93 | 1,067 | 1,160 |
| Najjar, George R. | 16.7% | 84 | 418 | 502 |
| Begovich, Samantha | 7.9% | 74 | 862 | 936 |
| Obrien, Leah | 12.0% | 24 | 176 | 200 |
| Ishimoto, Rhana | 12.1% | 12 | 87 | 99 |
| Montes, Raul | 100.0% | 4 | 0 | 4 |
Approval Rate by Nationality
Fiscal years 2020–2026 (Oct 2019 – Sep 2026).
| Nationality | Approval Rate | Granted | Denied | Decided |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mexico | 12.9% | 476 | 3,216 | 3,692 |
| Guatemala | 3.4% | 92 | 2,625 | 2,717 |
| Honduras | 3.4% | 34 | 968 | 1,002 |
| Venezuela | 8.4% | 67 | 728 | 795 |
| Colombia | 5.6% | 44 | 741 | 785 |
| Haiti | 6.0% | 43 | 679 | 722 |
| Russia | 57.9% | 298 | 217 | 515 |
| El Salvador | 7.0% | 32 | 428 | 460 |
| Nicaragua | 14.1% | 61 | 373 | 434 |
| Peru | 3.6% | 9 | 240 | 249 |
| Brazil | 2.2% | 5 | 222 | 227 |
| Ecuador | 3.9% | 8 | 195 | 203 |
| Cuba | 39.9% | 71 | 107 | 178 |
| Afghanistan | 22.3% | 37 | 129 | 166 |
| Iraq | 65.5% | 95 | 50 | 145 |
| China | 19.4% | 27 | 112 | 139 |
| Turkey | 19.3% | 26 | 109 | 135 |
| Vietnam | 29.6% | 24 | 57 | 81 |
| Iran | 57.1% | 40 | 30 | 70 |
| Jamaica | 6.1% | 3 | 46 | 49 |
| Somalia | 44.9% | 22 | 27 | 49 |
| Philippines | 25.0% | 12 | 36 | 48 |
| India | 6.2% | 3 | 45 | 48 |
| Chile | 10.6% | 5 | 42 | 47 |
| Ghana | 5.6% | 2 | 34 | 36 |
| Nigeria | 23.5% | 8 | 26 | 34 |
| Senegal | 6.2% | 2 | 30 | 32 |
| Uzbekistan | 0.0% | 0 | 32 | 32 |
| Ethiopia | 63.3% | 19 | 11 | 30 |
| Dominican Republic | 7.1% | 2 | 26 | 28 |
| Eritrea | 66.7% | 16 | 8 | 24 |
| Armenia | 5.0% | 1 | 19 | 20 |
| Kazakhstan | 30.0% | 6 | 14 | 20 |
| Belarus | 41.2% | 7 | 10 | 17 |
| Azerbaijan | 35.3% | 6 | 11 | 17 |
| Egypt | 17.6% | 3 | 14 | 17 |
| Romania | 0.0% | 0 | 16 | 16 |
| Sudan | 58.3% | 7 | 5 | 12 |
| Cameroon | 40.0% | 4 | 6 | 10 |
| Georgia | 0.0% | 0 | 10 | 10 |
| Ukraine | 30.0% | 3 | 7 | 10 |
| Guinea | 70.0% | 7 | 3 | 10 |
| Costa Rica | 0.0% | 0 | 9 | 9 |
| Pakistan | 0.0% | 0 | 7 | 7 |
| South Korea | 33.3% | 2 | 4 | 6 |
| Unknown Nationality | 0.0% | 0 | 6 | 6 |
| Angola | 66.7% | 4 | 2 | 6 |
| Jordan | 16.7% | 1 | 5 | 6 |
| Argentina | 0.0% | 0 | 6 | 6 |
| Indonesia | 0.0% | 0 | 5 | 5 |
| Syria | 60.0% | 3 | 2 | 5 |
| Kirghizia (Kyrgyzstan) | 0.0% | 0 | 5 | 5 |
| Libya | 100.0% | 5 | 0 | 5 |
| Morocco | 20.0% | 1 | 4 | 5 |
| South Africa | 25.0% | 1 | 3 | 4 |
| Tajikistan (Tadzhik) | 0.0% | 0 | 4 | 4 |
| Bolivia | 0.0% | 0 | 4 | 4 |
| Niger | 100.0% | 4 | 0 | 4 |
| Belize | 0.0% | 0 | 3 | 3 |
| Laos | 0.0% | 0 | 3 | 3 |
| Thailand | 0.0% | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| Mauritania | 0.0% | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Panama | 0.0% | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Israel | 0.0% | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| United Kingdom | 100.0% | 1 | 0 | 1 |