Appointed October 2019 · President Donald Trump→ Attorney General William P. Barr(AG inferred from date)
6 years on the immigration bench
Appointed under a Republican administration
Background
The Honorable Immigration Judge Erica J. McGuirk earned a Bachelor of Arts in 1993 from the University of Connecticut and a Juris Doctor in 1998 from the University of Iowa College of Law. Before her appointment, she served as associate counsel with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services in Houston (2012-2019) and as a senior attorney and assistant chief counsel with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in Houston (2003-2012). Earlier she was an assistant district counsel with the former Immigration and Naturalization Service in Houston (2002-2003) and a trial attorney with the Department of Labor in Dallas (1998-2002).
Caseload & process (since 2021)
305
Completions per year
914 total
5.6%
Detained at decision
share of cases
35.6 mo
Median time to decision
from case start
5.6%
Ordered removed in absentia
person absent
17.3%
Decisions appealed to BIA
appeal rate
0%
Appeals remanded or reversed
35 appeals decided
Grant rates by type of relief
Share granted among merits decisions for each application type, since 2021.
Asylum
10%
150 decisions Moderate
Withholding / CAT
0.9%
221 decisions High confidence
Cancellation — 42B (non-LPR)
6.7%⚠
15 decisions Too few cases
Cancellation — 42A (LPR)
50%⚠
4 decisions Too few cases
Adjustment of status (245)
63.6%⚠
11 decisions Too few cases
Voluntary departure
88.4%⚠
43 decisions Too few cases
10%
of asylum claims granted on the merits Moderate
Based on 150 asylum decisions (grants + denials) since 2021.
This judge
10%
This court
6.8%
National average
31.8%
0%100% granted
In the bottom 19% 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 · 135 decisions since 2021
10.4%
Without a lawyer⚠unrepresented · 15 decisions since 2021
6.7%
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).