The Honorable Immigration Judge Arkesia Jenkins

Houston — S. Gessner Road, TX Immigration Court
Appointed March 2020 · President Donald Trump Attorney General William P. Barr
6 years on the immigration bench
Appointed under a Republican administration

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Background

The Honorable Immigration Judge Arkesia Jenkins earned a Bachelor of Arts in 2007 from Albany State University and a Juris Doctor in 2010 from the University of Georgia School of Law. Before her appointment, she served as an assistant chief counsel with the Office of the Principal Legal Advisor, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, in Atlanta (2017-2020). Earlier she was an assistant district attorney with the Flint Judicial Circuit in McDonough, Georgia (2013-2016) and with the Dougherty Judicial Circuit in Albany, Georgia (2010-2013).

Caseload & process (since 2021)
1,264
Completions per year
7,586 total
24.5%
Detained at decision
share of cases
12.9 mo
Median time to decision
from case start
14.9%
Ordered removed in absentia
person absent
6.8%
Decisions appealed to BIA
appeal rate
4.6%
Appeals remanded or reversed
65 appeals decided

Bond decisions

Custody redetermination (bond) rulings since 2021. "Granted" means the judge lowered the bond, ordered release on recognizance, or otherwise granted the request.
50%
Bond requests granted
2 bond decisions Too few cases
$10,000
Median bond when set
1 bonds with amounts
0%
Released on own recognizance
This judge 50%
National 41.9% · median $6,500

Grant rates by type of relief

Share granted among merits decisions for each application type, since 2021.
Asylum
5.3% 658 decisions High confidence
Withholding / CAT
1.5% 1,131 decisions High confidence
Cancellation — 42B (non-LPR)
7.8% 51 decisions Moderate
Cancellation — 42A (LPR)
43.8% 16 decisions Too few cases
Adjustment of status (245)
66.7% 24 decisions Too few cases
Voluntary departure
94.1% 102 decisions Moderate
5.3%
of asylum claims granted on the merits High confidence
Based on 658 asylum decisions (grants + denials) since 2021.
This judge
5.3%
This court
6.9%
National average
31.8%
0%100% granted
In the bottom 8% of the 825 judges nationally with enough cases to compare.

Does a lawyer matter here?

Asylum grant rate by whether the person had legal representation.
With a lawyerrepresented · 558 decisions since 2021
5.7%
Without a lawyerunrepresented · 100 decisions since 2021
3%

Asylum grant rate over time

Each point is that calendar year's grant rate, back to 2015 where the judge was deciding cases — the longer career view. Dashed grey line = current national average (31.8%). Headline rates above use 2021 – today.
0% 25% 50% 75% 100%2020: 16.7% of 12 decisions16.7%20202021: 5% of 40 decisions5%20212022: 9.2% of 130 decisions9.2%20222023: 19.2% of 78 decisions19.2%20232024: 5.1% of 117 decisions5.1%20242025: 0% of 201 decisions0%20252026 (partial year): 0% of 92 decisions0%2026*
* 2026 is a partial year (data through 06/01/2026) and is incomplete.

Courts where this judge has decided cases

Hearing locations for cases this judge completed since 2021, by number of decisions. Many judges hear cases from more than one court (detained facilities, video dockets, or reassignments).
Houston, TX · home court
7,511 (99%)
14 (0.18%)
11 (0.15%)
9 (0.12%)
8 (0.11%)
6 (0.08%)