Appointed February 2017 · President Barack Obama→ Attorney General Loretta E. Lynch
9 years on the immigration bench
Appointed under a Democratic administration
Background
The Honorable Immigration Judge Emmett D Soper earned a Bachelor of Arts in 1998 from Carleton College and a Juris Doctor in 2005 from the University of Oregon School of Law. He served as associate general counsel in the Office of the General Counsel at the Executive Office for Immigration Review from 2012 to 2017, as an attorney advisor in the Department of Justice's Office of Legal Policy from 2010 to 2012, as an attorney advisor for the Office of the Chief Immigration Judge from 2006 to 2010, and as a judicial law clerk for the Buffalo Immigration Court from 2005 to 2006. He is a member of the Oregon State Bar.
Caseload & process (since 2021)
229
Completions per year
1,147 total
0.6%
Detained at decision
share of cases
37.8 mo
Median time to decision
from case start
7.5%
Ordered removed in absentia
person absent
5.8%
Decisions appealed to BIA
appeal rate
—
Appeals remanded or reversed
only 14 appeals — too few
Grant rates by type of relief
Share granted among merits decisions for each application type, since 2021.
Asylum
52.9%
170 decisions Moderate
Withholding / CAT
15.1%
139 decisions Moderate
Cancellation — 42B (non-LPR)
55%⚠
20 decisions Too few cases
Adjustment of status (245)
100%⚠
7 decisions Too few cases
Voluntary departure
90%⚠
10 decisions Too few cases
52.9%
of asylum claims granted on the merits Moderate
Based on 170 asylum decisions (grants + denials) since 2021.
This judge
52.9%
This court
32.6%
National average
31.8%
0%100% granted
In the top 16% 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 · 167 decisions since 2021
53.9%
Without a lawyer⚠unrepresented · 3 decisions since 2021
0%
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).