Appointed July 2021 · President Joe Biden→ Attorney General Merrick Garland(AG inferred from date)
5 years on the immigration bench
Appointed under a Democratic administration
Background
The Honorable Immigration Judge Jodie Schwab earned a Bachelor of Arts in 1990 from the University of Texas at San Antonio and a Juris Doctor in 1993 from St. Mary's University. From 2018 to 2021, she served as an assistant chief counsel with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in Houston. She previously served as senior counsel at a law firm in League City, Texas (2017-2018), and for over a decade as a law clerk to a U.S. magistrate judge in Texas (2006-2017). Earlier she was a deputy attorney general in California and counsel at United Services Automobile Association in San Antonio. She is a member of the California and Texas State Bars.
Caseload & process (since 2021)
296
Completions per year
888 total
0.1%
Detained at decision
share of cases
58.8 mo
Median time to decision
from case start
5.7%
Ordered removed in absentia
person absent
20.7%
Decisions appealed to BIA
appeal rate
0%
Appeals remanded or reversed
48 appeals decided
Grant rates by type of relief
Share granted among merits decisions for each application type, since 2021.
Asylum
8.3%
192 decisions Moderate
Withholding / CAT
1.2%
331 decisions High confidence
Cancellation — 42B (non-LPR)
0%⚠
19 decisions Too few cases
Adjustment of status (245)
100%⚠
13 decisions Too few cases
Voluntary departure
86.5%⚠
37 decisions Too few cases
8.3%
of asylum claims granted on the merits Moderate
Based on 192 asylum decisions (grants + denials) since 2021.
This judge
8.3%
This court
6.8%
National average
31.8%
0%100% granted
In the bottom 14% 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 · 185 decisions since 2021
8.6%
Without a lawyer⚠unrepresented · 7 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.
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).