The Honorable Immigration Judge Matthew H Watters

Baltimore, MD Immigration Court
Appointed December 2019 · President Donald Trump Attorney General William P. Barr
6 years on the immigration bench
Appointed under a Republican administration
Caseload & process (since 2021)
400
Completions per year
1,601 total
2.1%
Detained at decision
share of cases
52.6 mo
Median time to decision
from case start
4.6%
Ordered removed in absentia
person absent
1.7%
Decisions appealed to BIA
appeal rate
Appeals remanded or reversed
only 11 appeals — too few

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
12 bond decisions Too few cases
Median bond when set
Released on own recognizance
This judge 0%
Court average 14.9% · median $7,500
National 41.9% · median $6,500

Grant rates by type of relief

Share granted among merits decisions for each application type, since 2021.
Asylum
45.5% 55 decisions Moderate
Withholding / CAT
12.3% 65 decisions Moderate
Cancellation — 42B (non-LPR)
33.3% 9 decisions Too few cases
Cancellation — 42A (LPR)
0% 2 decisions Too few cases
Adjustment of status (245)
100% 4 decisions Too few cases
Voluntary departure
81.8% 11 decisions Too few cases
45.5%
of asylum claims granted on the merits Moderate
Based on 55 asylum decisions (grants + denials) since 2021.
This judge
45.5%
This court
32.6%
National average
31.8%
0%100% granted
In the top 24% 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 · 52 decisions since 2021
48.1%
Without a lawyerunrepresented · 3 decisions since 2021
0%

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%2020: 13.9% of 36 decisions13.9%20202021: 75% of 4 decisions75%20212022: 45.2% of 42 decisions45.2%20222023: 33.3% of 9 decisions33.3%2023

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).
Baltimore, MD · home court
1,536 (96%)
22 (1.4%)
5 (0.31%)
3 (0.19%)
2 (0.12%)