The Honorable Immigration Judge Karen Nazaire

New York — Federal Plaza, NY Immigration Court
Appointed October 2022 · President Joe Biden Attorney General Merrick Garland (AG inferred from date)
3 years on the immigration bench
Appointed under a Democratic administration

Attend this judge's internet-based hearing

EOIR publishes a WebEx link and telephonic access code for each sitting judge. Use these only if you have a hearing scheduled before this judge.

▶ Join by WebEx
Dial 1-415-527-5035Access code: 2763 382 3257Telephonic access
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 Karen Nazaire earned two Bachelor of Arts degrees in 2007 from Kean University, a Juris Doctor in 2011 from Mississippi College School of Law, and a Master of Laws in 2012 from American University Washington College of Law. She served as an assistant chief counsel with the Office of the Principal Legal Advisor, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, in Arlington, Virginia (2021-2022) and Phoenix (2017-2021), and as an assistant deputy public defender with the New Jersey Office of the Public Defender (2012-2017).

Caseload & process (since 2021)
1,529
Completions per year
9,174 total
2.1%
Detained at decision
share of cases
11.7 mo
Median time to decision
from case start
34.3%
Ordered removed in absentia
person absent
4.2%
Decisions appealed to BIA
appeal rate
5.3%
Appeals remanded or reversed
38 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.
0%
Bond requests granted
1 bond decision Too few cases
Median bond when set
Released on own recognizance
This judge 0%
Court average 0% · median $10,000
National 41.9% · median $6,500

Grant rates by type of relief

Share granted among merits decisions for each application type, since 2021.
Asylum
9.1% 548 decisions High confidence
Withholding / CAT
1.6% 618 decisions High confidence
Cancellation — 42B (non-LPR)
0% 4 decisions Too few cases
Adjustment of status (245)
88.9% 18 decisions Too few cases
Voluntary departure
97.5% 278 decisions High confidence
9.1%
of asylum claims granted on the merits High confidence
Based on 548 asylum decisions (grants + denials) since 2021.
This judge
9.1%
This court
57.3%
National average
31.8%
0%100% granted
In the bottom 16% 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 · 380 decisions since 2021
12.1%
Without a lawyerunrepresented · 168 decisions since 2021
2.4%

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.
0% 25% 50% 75% 100%2015: 100% of 1 decisions100%20152017: 0% of 1 decisions0%20172018: 0% of 4 decisions0%20182019: 0% of 3 decisions0%20192022: 53.3% of 15 decisions53.3%20222023: 28.8% of 80 decisions28.8%20232024: 25% of 44 decisions25%20242025: 7.4% of 108 decisions7.4%20252026 (partial year): 0% of 301 decisions0%2026*
* 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).
New York, NY · home court
8,021 (87%)
1,067 (12%)
32 (0.35%)
9 (0.10%)
5 (0.05%)
3 (0.03%)