Appointed November 2023 · President Joe Biden→ Attorney General Merrick Garland
2 years on the immigration bench
Appointed under a Democratic administration
Background
The Honorable Immigration Judge Philip Fluhr earned a Bachelor of Arts in 1995 from SUNY Binghamton and a Juris Doctor in 1998 from Loyola University New Orleans School of Law. From 2017 to 2023, and earlier from 2011 to 2016, he served as an assistant U.S. attorney with the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Illinois in Chicago. He served as a judge advocate in the U.S. Navy from 1998 to 2002 and has maintained reserve service since 2003, with deployments to the Philippines, Iraq, Qatar, and Afghanistan. He is a member of the Illinois, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania Bars.
Caseload & process (since 2021)
647
Completions per year
3,882 total
5.4%
Detained at decision
share of cases
11.8 mo
Median time to decision
from case start
25.4%
Ordered removed in absentia
person absent
2.4%
Decisions appealed to BIA
appeal rate
—
Appeals remanded or reversed
only 7 appeals — too few
Grant rates by type of relief
Share granted among merits decisions for each application type, since 2021.
Asylum
45.6%
215 decisions High confidence
Withholding / CAT
2%
204 decisions High confidence
Cancellation — 42B (non-LPR)
0%⚠
5 decisions Too few cases
Cancellation — 42A (LPR)
100%⚠
2 decisions Too few cases
Adjustment of status (245)
100%⚠
8 decisions Too few cases
Voluntary departure
100%⚠
9 decisions Too few cases
45.6%
of asylum claims granted on the merits High confidence
Based on 215 asylum decisions (grants + denials) since 2021.
This judge
45.6%
This court
45.7%
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 · 189 decisions since 2021
49.7%
Without a lawyer⚠unrepresented · 26 decisions since 2021
15.4%
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).