Appointed November 2018 · President Donald Trump→ Attorney General Jeff Sessions
7 years on the immigration bench
Appointed under a Republican administration
Background
The Honorable Immigration Judge Mark S. Evans earned a Bachelor of Arts in 1982 from the University of Texas at Arlington and a Juris Doctor in 1987 from the University of Houston Law Center. From 1997 to 2018, he served as an assistant chief counsel, senior attorney, and deputy chief counsel with the Office of the Chief Counsel, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Department of Homeland Security, in Houston. Earlier he was an assistant district attorney in Harris and Fort Bend Counties and in private practice in Houston. He is a member of the State Bar of Texas.
Caseload & process (since 2021)
1,222
Completions per year
6,109 total
52.9%
Detained at decision
share of cases
1.1 mo
Median time to decision
from case start
0%
Ordered removed in absentia
person absent
1.2%
Decisions appealed to BIA
appeal rate
21.9%
Appeals remanded or reversed
64 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.
71.8%
Bond requests granted
1,423 bond decisions High confidence
$8,000
Median bond when set
1,350 bonds with amounts
0.3%
Released on own recognizance
This judge 71.8%
Court average 58.7% · median $8,000
National 41.9% · median $6,500
Grant rates by type of relief
Share granted among merits decisions for each application type, since 2021.
Asylum
8.3%
133 decisions Moderate
Withholding / CAT
2.7%
298 decisions High confidence
Cancellation — 42B (non-LPR)
0%⚠
40 decisions Too few cases
Cancellation — 42A (LPR)
77.2%
57 decisions Moderate
Adjustment of status (245)
83.3%⚠
6 decisions Too few cases
Voluntary departure
70.9%
563 decisions High confidence
8.3%
of asylum claims granted on the merits Moderate
Based on 133 asylum decisions (grants + denials) since 2021.
This judge
8.3%
This court
12.4%
National average
31.8%
0%100% granted
In the bottom 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 · 78 decisions since 2021
11.5%
Without a lawyerunrepresented · 55 decisions since 2021
3.6%
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.
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).