Appointed February 2018 · President Donald Trump→ Attorney General Jeff Sessions
8 years on the immigration bench
Appointed under a Republican administration
Background
The Honorable Immigration Judge Mindy E Hoeppner earned a Bachelor of Science (1992) and a Juris Doctor (1995), both from the University of Iowa. Before her appointment, she served as an assistant chief counsel for the Office of Chief Counsel, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, DHS, in Salt Lake City (2005-2015) and Las Vegas (2015-2017). Earlier, she worked as an immigration defense attorney in private practice in Colorado.
Caseload & process (since 2021)
1,216
Completions per year
7,297 total
1.3%
Detained at decision
share of cases
22.8 mo
Median time to decision
from case start
16.7%
Ordered removed in absentia
person absent
4.6%
Decisions appealed to BIA
appeal rate
12.2%
Appeals remanded or reversed
49 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.
33.3%⚠
Bond requests granted
3 bond decisions Too few cases
$2,500
Median bond when set
1 bonds with amounts
0%
Released on own recognizance
This judge 33.3%
Court average 55.6% · median $2,500
National 41.9% · median $6,500
Grant rates by type of relief
Share granted among merits decisions for each application type, since 2021.
Asylum
25.4%
402 decisions High confidence
Withholding / CAT
3.4%
493 decisions High confidence
Cancellation — 42B (non-LPR)
60.2%
88 decisions Moderate
Cancellation — 42A (LPR)
66.7%⚠
9 decisions Too few cases
Adjustment of status (245)
97.7%⚠
43 decisions Too few cases
Voluntary departure
89%
127 decisions Moderate
25.4%
of asylum claims granted on the merits High confidence
Based on 402 asylum decisions (grants + denials) since 2021.
This judge
25.4%
This court
26.6%
National average
31.8%
0%100% granted
In the bottom 49% 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 · 365 decisions since 2021
27.1%
Without a lawyer⚠unrepresented · 37 decisions since 2021
8.1%
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).