Source: EOIR — Find an Immigration Court.
Recording an internet-based hearing is prohibited (8 C.F.R. § 1003.28). Respondents without a representative default to in-person hearings.
Background
The Honorable Immigration Judge John McPhail earned a Bachelor of Science in 1980 from the State University College at Buffalo, New York, and a Juris Doctor in 1984 from the University of Tulsa. From 1996 to 2016, he served as an assistant chief counsel with the Office of the Chief Counsel, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Department of Homeland Security, in Houston, and from 2016 to 2020 as an asylum and immigration officer with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services in Houston. Earlier he was an assistant district attorney in Garfield and Atoka Counties, Oklahoma, from 1985 to 1996. He is a member of the Oklahoma State Bar.
Caseload & process (since 2021)
1,108
Completions per year
6,649 total
51.5%
Detained at decision
share of cases
5.5 mo
Median time to decision
from case start
15.6%
Ordered removed in absentia
person absent
5.4%
Decisions appealed to BIA
appeal rate
20.1%
Appeals remanded or reversed
149 appeals decided
Bond decisions
Custody redetermination (bond) rulings since 2021.
"Granted" means the judge lowered the bond, ordered release on recognizance, or otherwise granted the request.
59.4%
Bond requests granted
524 bond decisions High confidence
$10,000
Median bond when set
309 bonds with amounts
0.3%
Released on own recognizance
This judge 59.4%
Court average 58.7% · median $8,000
National 41.9% · median $6,500
Grant rates by type of relief
Share granted among merits decisions for each application type, since 2021.
Asylum
3.3%
452 decisions High confidence
Withholding / CAT
1.8%
927 decisions High confidence
Cancellation — 42B (non-LPR)
4.4%
90 decisions Moderate
Cancellation — 42A (LPR)
54.8%⚠
31 decisions Too few cases
Adjustment of status (245)
57.7%⚠
26 decisions Too few cases
Voluntary departure
74%
695 decisions High confidence
3.3%
of asylum claims granted on the merits High confidence
Based on 452 asylum decisions (grants + denials) since 2021.
This judge
3.3%
This court
12.4%
National average
31.8%
0%100% granted
In the bottom 5% 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 · 311 decisions since 2021
3.5%
Without a lawyerunrepresented · 141 decisions since 2021
2.8%
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).