The Honorable Immigration Judge Gregory L Simmons

Santa Ana, CA Immigration Court
Appointed October 2019 · President Donald Trump Attorney General William P. Barr
6 years on the immigration bench
Appointed under a Republican administration

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Caseload & process (since 2021)
915
Completions per year
5,492 total
0.3%
Detained at decision
share of cases
15.8 mo
Median time to decision
from case start
24.7%
Ordered removed in absentia
person absent
12.3%
Decisions appealed to BIA
appeal rate
7.9%
Appeals remanded or reversed
63 appeals decided

Grant rates by type of relief

Share granted among merits decisions for each application type, since 2021.
Asylum
17.8% 684 decisions High confidence
Withholding / CAT
1.8% 948 decisions High confidence
Cancellation — 42B (non-LPR)
55.6% 27 decisions Too few cases
Cancellation — 42A (LPR)
50% 8 decisions Too few cases
Adjustment of status (245)
93.8% 16 decisions Too few cases
Voluntary departure
93.8% 81 decisions Moderate
17.8%
of asylum claims granted on the merits High confidence
Based on 684 asylum decisions (grants + denials) since 2021.
This judge
17.8%
This court
19.1%
National average
31.8%
0%100% granted
In the bottom 36% 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 · 651 decisions since 2021
18.7%
Without a lawyerunrepresented · 33 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.
0% 25% 50% 75% 100%2019: 37% of 184 decisions37%20192020: 41% of 273 decisions41%20202021: 46.5% of 99 decisions46.5%20212022: 19.4% of 31 decisions19.4%20222023: 29.7% of 74 decisions29.7%20232024: 17.5% of 137 decisions17.5%20242025: 8.3% of 253 decisions8.3%20252026 (partial year): 3.3% of 90 decisions3.3%2026*
* 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).
Santa Ana, CA · home court
5,092 (93%)
24 (0.44%)
9 (0.16%)
9 (0.16%)
6 (0.11%)