Portland, OR Immigration Court No longer hearing cases at this court
Appointed April 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 Kathy J Lemke earned a Bachelor of Arts (1994) from the University of Chicago and a Juris Doctor (1997) from Arizona State University School of Law. Before her appointment, she served as a city prosecutor for Phoenix and, for a decade, as an assistant U.S. attorney for the District of Arizona (2009-2019). Earlier, she was a deputy county attorney for Pinal and Maricopa counties.
Caseload & process (since 2021)
446
Completions per year
1,783 total
0.5%
Detained at decision
share of cases
41.3 mo
Median time to decision
from case start
12.3%
Ordered removed in absentia
person absent
4.3%
Decisions appealed to BIA
appeal rate
11.1%
Appeals remanded or reversed
27 appeals decided
Grant rates by type of relief
Share granted among merits decisions for each application type, since 2021.
Asylum
56.7%
141 decisions Moderate
Withholding / CAT
9.9%
141 decisions Moderate
Cancellation — 42B (non-LPR)
62.2%⚠
37 decisions Too few cases
Cancellation — 42A (LPR)
100%⚠
3 decisions Too few cases
Adjustment of status (245)
90.6%⚠
32 decisions Too few cases
Voluntary departure
71%⚠
31 decisions Too few cases
56.7%
of asylum claims granted on the merits Moderate
Based on 141 asylum decisions (grants + denials) since 2021.
This judge
56.7%
This court
26.6%
National average
31.8%
0%100% granted
In the top 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 · 124 decisions since 2021
58.9%
Without a lawyer⚠unrepresented · 17 decisions since 2021
41.2%
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).