The Honorable Immigration Judge Robert L Powell

Conroe, TX Immigration Court
Appointed August 2010 · President Barack Obama → Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr.
16 years on the immigration bench
Appointed under a Democratic administration

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Background

The Honorable Immigration Judge Robert L. Powell earned a Bachelor of Arts in 1970 from Tulane University and a Juris Doctor in 1973 from St. Mary's University School of Law. From 2001 to August 2010, he worked as an administrative judge for the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission in San Antonio, Texas, and earlier as an administrative law attorney for the U.S. Department of the Army and the Panama Canal Commission. He served in the U.S. Army Judge Advocate General's Corps from 1973 to 1977 and is a member of the State Bar of Texas.

Caseload & process (since 2021)
1,116
Completions per year
6,693 total
64.7%
Detained at decision
share of cases
1.2 mo
Median time to decision
from case start
0%
Ordered removed in absentia
person absent
3.9%
Decisions appealed to BIA
appeal rate
22.1%
Appeals remanded or reversed
172 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.
46.4%
Bond requests granted
1,602 bond decisions High confidence
$10,000
Median bond when set
876 bonds with amounts
0.1%
Released on own recognizance
This judge 46.4%
Court average 58.7% · median $8,000
National 41.9% · median $6,500

Grant rates by type of relief

Share granted among merits decisions for each application type, since 2021.
Asylum
 5.4% 498 decisions High confidence
Withholding / CAT
 1.8% 1,016 decisions High confidence
Cancellation — 42B (non-LPR)
 8.9% 112 decisions Moderate
Cancellation — 42A (LPR)
 61.6% 73 decisions Moderate
Adjustment of status (245)
 50%⚠ 18 decisions Too few cases
Voluntary departure
 82.6% 621 decisions High confidence
5.4%
of asylum claims granted on the merits High confidence
Based on 498 asylum decisions (grants + denials) since 2021.
This judge
5.4%
This court
12.4%
National average
31.8%
0%100% granted
In the bottom 8% 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 · 265 decisions since 2021
8.3%
Without a lawyerunrepresented · 233 decisions since 2021
2.1%

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.
0% 25% 50% 75% 100%2015: 10.6% of 94 decisions10.6%20152016: 3.3% of 91 decisions3.3%20162017: 9.5% of 147 decisions9.5%20172018: 7.2% of 83 decisions7.2%20182019: 3.6% of 83 decisions3.6%20192020: 22% of 59 decisions22%20202021: 15.6% of 45 decisions15.6%20212022: 16.3% of 98 decisions16.3%20222023: 1% of 98 decisions1%20232024: 0% of 104 decisions0%20242025: 2.2% of 89 decisions2.2%20252026 (partial year): 1.6% of 64 decisions1.6%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).
Conroe, TX · home court
6,690 (100%)
Laredo, TX
2 (0.03%)
Houston, TX
1 (0.01%)