Appointed August 2023 · President Joe Biden→ Attorney General Merrick Garland(AG inferred from date)
3 years on the immigration bench
Appointed under a Democratic administration
Background
The Honorable Immigration Judge Jennifer Durkin earned a Bachelor of Arts in 1992 from the University of Buffalo and a Juris Doctor in 1999 from UCLA School of Law. She served as deputy attorney-in-charge and supervising attorney in the Legal Aid Society's Immigration Law Unit (2020-2023), was a partner at Durkin & Puri (2010-2020) and Yee, Durkin & Puri (2005-2010), and was an associate at Spar & Bernstein (2003-2005) and the Law Office of Roni P. Deutsch in California (1999-2003).
Caseload & process (since 2021)
473
Completions per year
2,366 total
1%
Detained at decision
share of cases
11 mo
Median time to decision
from case start
29.7%
Ordered removed in absentia
person absent
2.6%
Decisions appealed to BIA
appeal rate
—
Appeals remanded or reversed
only 11 appeals — too few
Grant rates by type of relief
Share granted among merits decisions for each application type, since 2021.
Asylum
60.5%
319 decisions High confidence
Withholding / CAT
22%
205 decisions High confidence
Adjustment of status (245)
100%⚠
3 decisions Too few cases
Voluntary departure
100%⚠
14 decisions Too few cases
60.5%
of asylum claims granted on the merits High confidence
Based on 319 asylum decisions (grants + denials) since 2021.
This judge
60.5%
This court
37.1%
National average
31.8%
0%100% granted
In the top 12% 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 · 283 decisions since 2021
63.6%
Without a lawyer⚠unrepresented · 36 decisions since 2021
36.1%
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).