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Judge Joseph T. Leonard

Immigration Judge at Harlingen, TX

Snapshot answer

The 2026-07-01 snapshot lists a 2.4% historical asylum grant rate for Joseph T. Leonard at Harlingen, TX, based on 158 grants and 6,498 denials (6,656 decided outcomes).

2.4%
Approval Rate
158
Granted
6,498
Denied
6,656
Total Decided

The 2026-07-01 EOIR snapshot lists Joseph T. Leonard with Harlingen, TX. With an asylum approval rate of 2.4%, this judge is below average compared to the national average. Data sourced from EOIR (Executive Office for Immigration Review). Historical listings do not by themselves establish a current assignment.

Community Discussion

DATA

Judge Leonard (Harlingen, TX) data snapshot: 7,649 cases over 40 years, 2.4% grant rate

A few numbers worth knowing if you have a hearing in front of Judge Leonard, Joseph T. (IJ code JTL, Harlingen, TX):

40 years on the bench (since 1987), 7,649 cases total, lifetime grant rate 2.4%

Last 3 years (2023–2026): 4,263 cases, grant rate 2.3% — roughly in line with the Harlingen court average (1.8%)

Nationality / Cases / Grant rate
Mexico                1149    4.3%
Honduras              1082    0.2%
Guatemala              451    0.0%
Nicaragua              350    0.9%
El Salvador            294    0.4%
Cuba                   277   12.5%
Venezuela              166    4.8%
Ecuador                142    0.0%
Colombia               118    0.0%
Dominican Republic      51    0.0%
Peru                    35    0.0%
2023: 1437 cases, 2.1% grant rate
2024: 1151 cases, 1.6% grant rate
2025: 1049 cases, 3.0% grant rate
2026:  626 cases, 2.7% grant rate

If you've appeared before Judge Leonard, I'd love to hear:

1. What's your nationality, and when was your most recent hearing?

2. How did your attorney prepare for this judge specifically?

Source: EOIR (U.S. Executive Office for Immigration Review) public statistics, July 2026 release, compiled by AsylumTracker. A judge's historical pattern does not predict the outcome of any individual case; this is shared to help set realistic expectations. Real-experience accounts from the community are welcome.

Have experience with this judge? Open AsylumTracker to reply or read more responses from the community.

How to Interpret These Judge Statistics

Joseph T. Leonard is listed with the Harlingen, TX Immigration Court. The headline asylum grant rate shown here is 2.4% based on granted and denied asylum decisions represented in the current dataset.

Among the largest nationality groups shown for this judge, the table highlights Honduras (1,520 decided, 0.1% grant rate), Mexico (1,003 decided, 5.9% grant rate), and Guatemala (631 decided, 0.2% grant rate). Compare these rows with the judge's overall rate because nationality mix can materially change how the headline number should be read.

Grant rate is calculated as granted / (granted + denied). Other procedural outcomes, including terminated, withdrawn, administratively closed, or removed cases, are tracked separately where available and are not treated as asylum grants.

This page is based on public EOIR data last updated 2026-07-01. It is for research and information only, not legal advice.

Read the grant-rate methodology or learn how to read immigration judge statistics.

Nationality Breakdown

NationalityCasesGrant rate
Honduras 1,520 0.1%
Mexico 1,003 5.9%
Guatemala 631 0.2%
Nicaragua 503 0.6%
El Salvador 391 0.5%
Cuba 195 7.7%
Venezuela 178 9.6%
Ecuador 164 0.0%

Yearly Trends

YearCasesGrant rate
2026 476 2.7%
2025 799 3.0%
2024 988 1.6%
2023 1,305 2.1%
2022 612 2.0%
2021 28 39.3%
2020 733 2.5%

Frequently Asked Questions

What is Judge Joseph T. Leonard's asylum approval rate?

Judge Joseph T. Leonard's asylum approval rate is 2.4% according to EOIR FOIA data.

How many asylum cases has Judge Joseph T. Leonard decided?

The dataset lists 6,656 total asylum cases for Judge Joseph T. Leonard.

How is this approval rate calculated?

The approval rate is calculated as granted divided by (granted + denied). It excludes terminations and withdrawals, and the source is EOIR FOIA data.

Other judges at this court

Ayala, David 6.6% approval rate Zlatow, Jeffrey 6.4% approval rate Gonzalez, Delia I. 3.3% approval rate Castaneda, Julian 1.6% approval rate Garcia, Melissa Joy 3.8% approval rate Pineda, Christopher 0.7% approval rate Gilbert, Daniel B. 5.1% approval rate Singh, Rantideva 1.6% approval rate Rodriguez, Adam 0.3% approval rate Galvao, Andrew 0.9% approval rate

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