Appointed October 2019 · President Donald Trump→ Attorney General William P. Barr
6 years on the immigration bench
Appointed under a Republican administration
Background
The Honorable Immigration Judge Laura N Pierro earned a Bachelor of Arts in 1994 from the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, and a Juris Doctor in 1997 from Wake Forest University School of Law. She spent much of her career with the Ocean County Prosecutor's Office in Toms River, New Jersey, where from 1999 to 2018 she served in roles including assistant prosecutor, director of the Special Victims' Unit, chief trial attorney, and deputy executive assistant prosecutor in charge of litigation. From 1997 to 1998 she clerked for criminal judges of the Superior Court of New Jersey, Monmouth Vicinage. She is a member of the District of Columbia Bar and the New Jersey State Bar.
Caseload & process (since 2021)
1,004
Completions per year
6,026 total
1.4%
Detained at decision
share of cases
42.1 mo
Median time to decision
from case start
13.6%
Ordered removed in absentia
person absent
7.7%
Decisions appealed to BIA
appeal rate
20.5%
Appeals remanded or reversed
205 appeals decided
Grant rates by type of relief
Share granted among merits decisions for each application type, since 2021.
Asylum
24.4%
434 decisions High confidence
Withholding / CAT
9.4%
615 decisions High confidence
Cancellation — 42B (non-LPR)
51.1%
272 decisions High confidence
Cancellation — 42A (LPR)
66.7%⚠
6 decisions Too few cases
Adjustment of status (245)
95.5%⚠
22 decisions Too few cases
Voluntary departure
92.3%
52 decisions Moderate
24.4%
of asylum claims granted on the merits High confidence
Based on 434 asylum decisions (grants + denials) since 2021.
This judge
24.4%
This court
19.9%
National average
31.8%
0%100% granted
In the bottom 48% 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 · 400 decisions since 2021
26.2%
Without a lawyer⚠unrepresented · 34 decisions since 2021
2.9%
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).