The Honorable Immigration Judge Phillip T Williams
Hyattsville, MD Immigration Court
Appointed March 1995 · President Bill Clinton→ Attorney General Janet Reno(AG inferred from date)
31 years on the immigration bench
Appointed under a Democratic administration
Background
The Honorable Immigration Judge Phillip T Williams earned a Bachelor of Arts in 1978 from Temple University, a Master of Arts in 1981 from Howard University, and a Juris Doctor in 1986 from Howard University School of Law. He was first appointed an immigration judge in New York in March 1995 and later served as an assistant chief immigration judge beginning in 1997. Before joining the bench, he practiced at Maggio & Kattar in Washington, DC (1987-1995) and served as a District of Columbia pretrial services officer (1984-1986). He is a member of the District of Columbia and Pennsylvania Bars.
Caseload & process (since 2021)
789
Completions per year
3,946 total
0.1%
Detained at decision
share of cases
44.8 mo
Median time to decision
from case start
14%
Ordered removed in absentia
person absent
5.9%
Decisions appealed to BIA
appeal rate
11.4%
Appeals remanded or reversed
44 appeals decided
Grant rates by type of relief
Share granted among merits decisions for each application type, since 2021.
Asylum
48.6%
564 decisions High confidence
Withholding / CAT
12.2%
499 decisions High confidence
Cancellation — 42B (non-LPR)
95.6%⚠
45 decisions Too few cases
Cancellation — 42A (LPR)
100%⚠
2 decisions Too few cases
Adjustment of status (245)
94.1%⚠
34 decisions Too few cases
Voluntary departure
79.2%⚠
24 decisions Too few cases
48.6%
of asylum claims granted on the merits High confidence
Based on 564 asylum decisions (grants + denials) since 2021.
This judge
48.6%
This court
42%
National average
31.8%
0%100% granted
In the top 20% 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
48.4%
Without a lawyer⚠unrepresented · 21 decisions since 2021
52.4%
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.
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).