The Honorable Immigration Judge Michelle A Slayton

San Francisco, CA Immigration Court
Appointed February 2023 · President Joe Biden Attorney General Merrick Garland
3 years on the immigration bench
Appointed under a Democratic administration

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Background

The Honorable Immigration Judge Michelle A Slayton earned a Bachelor of Arts in 1994 from the University of Oregon and a Juris Doctor in 1999 from New England School of Law. Early in her career she served as an attorney advisor at the New York Immigration Court through the Attorney General's Honors Program and practiced immigration law in New York and Oregon, and from 2010 to 2022 she served as an assistant chief counsel with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in Portland, Oregon. She is a member of the New York State Bar and the Oregon State Bar.

Caseload & process (since 2021)
838
Completions per year
5,025 total
5.2%
Detained at decision
share of cases
28.5 mo
Median time to decision
from case start
25.2%
Ordered removed in absentia
person absent
4.2%
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
3 bond decisions Too few cases
Median bond when set
Released on own recognizance
This judge 0%
Court average 26.3% · median $4,000
National 41.9% · median $6,500

Grant rates by type of relief

Share granted among merits decisions for each application type, since 2021.
Asylum
62.2% 606 decisions High confidence
Withholding / CAT
3% 440 decisions High confidence
Cancellation — 42B (non-LPR)
18.5% 27 decisions Too few cases
Cancellation — 42A (LPR)
42.9% 7 decisions Too few cases
Adjustment of status (245)
95.5% 22 decisions Too few cases
Voluntary departure
86.6% 82 decisions Moderate
62.2%
of asylum claims granted on the merits High confidence
Based on 606 asylum decisions (grants + denials) since 2021.
This judge
62.2%
This court
68.2%
National average
31.8%
0%100% granted
In the top 11% 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 · 543 decisions since 2021
67.4%
Without a lawyerunrepresented · 63 decisions since 2021
17.5%

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%2017: 100% of 1 decisions100%20172018: 0% of 1 decisions0%20182020: 0% of 1 decisions0%20202022: 100% of 1 decisions100%20222023: 79.3% of 184 decisions79.3%20232024: 74.8% of 135 decisions74.8%20242025: 51.3% of 228 decisions51.3%20252026 (partial year): 20.7% of 58 decisions20.7%2026*
* 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).
San Francisco, CA · home court
3,916 (78%)
908 (18%)
116 (2.3%)
10 (0.20%)
8 (0.16%)
6 (0.12%)