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 Lisa Ehrens earned a Bachelor of Arts in 1999 from Emory University, a Juris Doctor in 2003 from American University Washington College of Law, and a Master of Business Administration in 2004 from American University. She operated her own immigration law firm from 2012 to 2019, and previously worked as an immigration attorney in private practice in New York from 2006 to 2012. Judge Ehrens is a member of the New Jersey and New York State Bars.
Caseload & process (since 2021)
1,114
Completions per year
6,684 total
1.8%
Detained at decision
share of cases
12.4 mo
Median time to decision
from case start
30.1%
Ordered removed in absentia
person absent
0.9%
Decisions appealed to BIA
appeal rate
—
Appeals remanded or reversed
only 8 appeals — too few
Grant rates by type of relief
Share granted among merits decisions for each application type, since 2021.
Asylum
86.3%
583 decisions High confidence
Withholding / CAT
27%
100 decisions Moderate
Cancellation — 42A (LPR)
100%⚠
1 decision Too few cases
Adjustment of status (245)
95.8%⚠
24 decisions Too few cases
Voluntary departure
90%⚠
10 decisions Too few cases
86.3%
of asylum claims granted on the merits High confidence
Based on 583 asylum decisions (grants + denials) since 2021.
This judge
86.3%
This court
57.3%
National average
31.8%
0%100% granted
In the top 2% 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 · 556 decisions since 2021
89%
Without a lawyer⚠unrepresented · 27 decisions since 2021
29.6%
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).