Appointed May 2022 · President Joe Biden→ Attorney General Merrick Garland
4 years on the immigration bench
Appointed under a Democratic administration
Background
The Honorable Immigration Judge Cynthia M Nunez earned a Bachelor of Arts in 1986 from the University of Michigan and a Juris Doctor in 1993 from Wayne State University Law School. She practiced immigration law at Walker & Associates of Michigan PC in Detroit, where she also served as Lawyer-Guardian ad Litem, and from 1997 to 2006 she served as a Michigan Assistant Attorney General. She is a member of the State Bar of Michigan.
Caseload & process (since 2021)
75
Completions per year
300 total
0.7%
Detained at decision
share of cases
47.9 mo
Median time to decision
from case start
5%
Ordered removed in absentia
person absent
1.7%
Decisions appealed to BIA
appeal rate
—
Appeals remanded or reversed
only 1 appeals — too few
Grant rates by type of relief
Share granted among merits decisions for each application type, since 2021.
Asylum
88.4%
86 decisions Moderate
Withholding / CAT
16.7%⚠
24 decisions Too few cases
Cancellation — 42A (LPR)
100%⚠
1 decision Too few cases
Adjustment of status (245)
100%⚠
3 decisions Too few cases
Voluntary departure
75%⚠
4 decisions Too few cases
88.4%
of asylum claims granted on the merits Moderate
Based on 86 asylum decisions (grants + denials) since 2021.
This judge
88.4%
This court
68.2%
National average
31.8%
0%100% granted
In the top 1% 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 · 86 decisions since 2021
88.4%
Without a lawyerunrepresented
no data
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).