Appointed August 2018 · President Donald Trump→ Attorney General Jeff Sessions
8 years on the immigration bench
Appointed under a Republican administration
Background
The Honorable Immigration Judge Cynthia Gordon earned a Bachelor of Arts in 1990 from Hamilton College and a Juris Doctor in 1993 from Cornell Law School. From 2007 to 2018, she was an assistant chief counsel in the Office of the Principal Legal Advisor, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Department of Homeland Security, in New York. From 2001 to 2007, she was a special assistant attorney general in the New York State Attorney General's Office. From 1994 to 2001, she was an assistant district attorney in the New York County District Attorney's Office. From 1993 to 1994, she was a judicial clerk in the Superior Court of New Jersey. Judge Gordon is a member of the New York and New Jersey State Bars.
Caseload & process (since 2021)
868
Completions per year
5,208 total
2%
Detained at decision
share of cases
28.2 mo
Median time to decision
from case start
10.7%
Ordered removed in absentia
person absent
2.6%
Decisions appealed to BIA
appeal rate
—
Appeals remanded or reversed
only 6 appeals — too few
Grant rates by type of relief
Share granted among merits decisions for each application type, since 2021.
Asylum
77.2%
661 decisions High confidence
Withholding / CAT
18.3%
229 decisions High confidence
Cancellation — 42B (non-LPR)
77.6%
67 decisions Moderate
Cancellation — 42A (LPR)
100%⚠
2 decisions Too few cases
Adjustment of status (245)
100%
85 decisions Moderate
Voluntary departure
100%⚠
16 decisions Too few cases
77.2%
of asylum claims granted on the merits High confidence
Based on 661 asylum decisions (grants + denials) since 2021.
This judge
77.2%
This court
57.3%
National average
31.8%
0%100% granted
In the top 6% 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 · 644 decisions since 2021
77.6%
Without a lawyer⚠unrepresented · 17 decisions since 2021
58.8%
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.
* 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).