Appointed October 2017 · President Donald Trump→ Attorney General Jeff Sessions
8 years on the immigration bench
Appointed under a Republican administration
Background
The Honorable Immigration Judge Jeremiah Johnson earned a Bachelor of Arts in 1996 from Randolph-Macon College and a Juris Doctor in 2003 from the University of San Francisco School of Law. He practiced immigration law in San Francisco, including as a research attorney at Van Der Hout, Brigagliano & Nightingale LLP, as a partner at Reeves & Associates from 2005 to 2011 and at Johnson & McDermed LLP from 2011 to 2016, and he served as an asylum officer with USCIS in San Francisco from 2016 to 2017. He is a member of the California State Bar.
Caseload & process (since 2021)
932
Completions per year
5,594 total
26.8%
Detained at decision
share of cases
21.3 mo
Median time to decision
from case start
10.9%
Ordered removed in absentia
person absent
1.7%
Decisions appealed to BIA
appeal rate
—
Appeals remanded or reversed
only 11 appeals — too few
Bond decisions
Custody redetermination (bond) rulings since 2021.
"Granted" means the judge lowered the bond, ordered release on recognizance, or otherwise granted the request.
0%⚠
Bond requests granted
1 bond decision Too few cases
—
Median bond when set
—
Released on own recognizance
This judge 0%
Court average 26.3% · median $4,000
National 41.9% · median $6,500
Grant rates by type of relief
Share granted among merits decisions for each application type, since 2021.
Asylum
87.8%
770 decisions High confidence
Withholding / CAT
17.6%
193 decisions Moderate
Cancellation — 42B (non-LPR)
93.4%
242 decisions High confidence
Cancellation — 42A (LPR)
66.7%⚠
3 decisions Too few cases
Adjustment of status (245)
100%⚠
39 decisions Too few cases
Voluntary departure
86.7%⚠
45 decisions Too few cases
87.8%
of asylum claims granted on the merits High confidence
Based on 770 asylum decisions (grants + denials) since 2021.
This judge
87.8%
This court
68.2%
National average
31.8%
0%100% granted
In the top 2% 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 · 751 decisions since 2021
89.3%
Without a lawyer⚠unrepresented · 19 decisions since 2021
26.3%
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).