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 Jem C Sponzo earned a Bachelor of Arts in 2003 from Hamilton College and a Juris Doctor in 2006 from the University of Connecticut School of Law. She served as a judicial law clerk for the New York City Immigration Court through the Attorney General's Honors Program (2006-2007), as a trial attorney with the DOJ Office of Immigration Litigation (2007-2017), and as clearance counsel for the White House Office of Presidential Personnel (2015).
Caseload & process (since 2021)
1,755
Completions per year
10,528 total
0.8%
Detained at decision
share of cases
25.3 mo
Median time to decision
from case start
31%
Ordered removed in absentia
person absent
8.1%
Decisions appealed to BIA
appeal rate
20.7%
Appeals remanded or reversed
29 appeals decided
Grant rates by type of relief
Share granted among merits decisions for each application type, since 2021.
Asylum
66%
841 decisions High confidence
Withholding / CAT
13.7%
454 decisions High confidence
Cancellation — 42B (non-LPR)
88.4%
129 decisions Moderate
Cancellation — 42A (LPR)
83.3%⚠
6 decisions Too few cases
Adjustment of status (245)
93.7%
79 decisions Moderate
Voluntary departure
98.1%
52 decisions Moderate
66%
of asylum claims granted on the merits High confidence
Based on 841 asylum decisions (grants + denials) since 2021.
This judge
66%
This court
57.3%
National average
31.8%
0%100% granted
In the top 8% 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 · 809 decisions since 2021
67.7%
Without a lawyer⚠unrepresented · 32 decisions since 2021
21.9%
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).