The Honorable Immigration Judge John T Driscoll
Otay Mesa, CA Immigration Court
Appointed February 2026 · President Donald Trump → Attorney General Pamela Bondi
Less than a year on the immigration bench
Appointed under a Republican administration
Background
The Honorable Immigration Judge John T Driscoll earned a Bachelor of Arts in 1995 from the University of California, San Diego, and a Juris Doctor in 1999 from Loyola Law School. He practiced municipal law beginning in 2000, serving as a deputy city attorney with the Los Angeles City Attorney's Office and, since 2011, as general counsel at the Port of Los Angeles. He has served in the U.S. Army Judge Advocate General's Corps since 2007, holding the rank of lieutenant colonel in the Army Reserve and earning the Bronze Star Medal.
Caseload & process (since 2021)
192
Completions per year
192 total
49.5%
Detained at decision
share of cases
7.8 mo
Median time to decision
from case start
11.5%
Ordered removed in absentia
person absent
16.7%
Decisions appealed to BIA
appeal rate
—
Appeals remanded or reversed
only 0 appeals — too few
Grant rates by type of relief
Share granted among merits decisions for each application type, since 2021.
| Asylum | |
34.9% |
63 decisions Moderate |
| Withholding / CAT | |
3.4% |
87 decisions Moderate |
| Cancellation — 42B (non-LPR) | |
0%⚠ |
12 decisions Too few cases |
| Adjustment of status (245) | |
50%⚠ |
2 decisions Too few cases |
| Voluntary departure | |
78.9%⚠ |
19 decisions Too few cases |
34.9%
of asylum claims granted on the merits Moderate
Based on 63 asylum decisions (grants + denials) since 2021.
0%100% granted
In the top 37% 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 · 61 decisions since 2021
Without a lawyer⚠unrepresented · 2 decisions since 2021
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).