Source: EOIR — Find an Immigration Court.
Recording an internet-based hearing is prohibited (8 C.F.R. § 1003.28). Respondents without a representative default to in-person hearings.
Background
The Honorable Immigration Judge Rachel Ann Ruane received a Bachelor of Arts in 1997 from Wesleyan University and a Juris Doctor in 2001 from Emory University School of Law. She served as a judicial law clerk for the Executive Office for Immigration Review in Boston from 2001 to 2002 and as an attorney advisor for EOIR in Los Angeles from 2002 to 2003. She then joined the Department of Homeland Security, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Office of the Chief Counsel in Los Angeles, where she worked as an assistant chief counsel, senior attorney, and ultimately deputy chief counsel from 2003 to 2010. She is a member of the State Bar of Massachusetts.
Caseload & process (since 2021)
1,762
Completions per year
10,571 total
1.7%
Detained at decision
share of cases
13.2 mo
Median time to decision
from case start
21.5%
Ordered removed in absentia
person absent
1.7%
Decisions appealed to BIA
appeal rate
30.4%
Appeals remanded or reversed
23 appeals decided
Grant rates by type of relief
Share granted among merits decisions for each application type, since 2021.
Asylum
14.2%
339 decisions High confidence
Withholding / CAT
2.7%
368 decisions High confidence
Cancellation — 42B (non-LPR)
66.2%
74 decisions Moderate
Cancellation — 42A (LPR)
71.4%⚠
7 decisions Too few cases
Adjustment of status (245)
75%⚠
44 decisions Too few cases
Voluntary departure
91.4%
93 decisions Moderate
14.2%
of asylum claims granted on the merits High confidence
Based on 339 asylum decisions (grants + denials) since 2021.
This judge
14.2%
This court
29.1%
National average
31.8%
0%100% granted
In the bottom 30% 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 · 300 decisions since 2021
15.7%
Without a lawyer⚠unrepresented · 39 decisions since 2021
2.6%
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).