The Honorable Immigration Judge Barbara Gonzalez Cigarroa
Los Fresnos (PIS), TX Immigration Court
Appointed June 2016 · President Barack Obama→ Attorney General Loretta E. Lynch
10 years on the immigration bench
Appointed under a Democratic administration
Background
The Honorable Immigration Judge Barbara Gonzalez Cigarroa earned a Bachelor of Arts in 1978 from Harvard University and a Master of Social Work and a Juris Doctor in 1993 from Washington University and Washington University School of Law. She served as a senior attorney for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement from 2008 to 2016, as an assistant chief counsel for ICE from 2003 to 2008, and as a trial attorney for the former Immigration and Naturalization Service from 1993 to 2003, having entered through the Attorney General's Honors Program. She is a member of the State Bar of Texas.
Caseload & process (since 2021)
1,278
Completions per year
5,112 total
64.4%
Detained at decision
share of cases
0.3 mo
Median time to decision
from case start
2.6%
Ordered removed in absentia
person absent
0.4%
Decisions appealed to BIA
appeal rate
—
Appeals remanded or reversed
only 15 appeals — too few
Bond decisions
Custody redetermination (bond) rulings since 2021.
"Granted" means the judge lowered the bond, ordered release on recognizance, or otherwise granted the request.
63.2%
Bond requests granted
239 bond decisions High confidence
$7,500
Median bond when set
150 bonds with amounts
0%
Released on own recognizance
This judge 63.2%
Court average 43.6% · median $7,500
National 41.9% · median $6,500
Grant rates by type of relief
Share granted among merits decisions for each application type, since 2021.
Asylum
30.9%
81 decisions Moderate
Withholding / CAT
2.2%
136 decisions Moderate
Cancellation — 42B (non-LPR)
33.3%⚠
3 decisions Too few cases
Cancellation — 42A (LPR)
50%⚠
4 decisions Too few cases
Voluntary departure
54.8%⚠
31 decisions Too few cases
30.9%
of asylum claims granted on the merits Moderate
Based on 81 asylum decisions (grants + denials) since 2021.
This judge
30.9%
This court
8.3%
National average
31.8%
0%100% granted
In the top 42% 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 lawyer⚠represented · 40 decisions since 2021
47.5%
Without a lawyer⚠unrepresented · 41 decisions since 2021
14.6%
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.
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).