Appointed December 2021 · President Joe Biden→ Attorney General Merrick Garland
4 years on the immigration bench
Appointed under a Democratic administration
Background
The Honorable Immigration Judge Sarah Hartnett earned a Bachelor of Science in 1995 from Sul Ross State University and a Juris Doctor in 2000 from St. Mary's University School of Law. From 2014 to 2021 she served as Chief Counsel in the Office of the Principal Legal Advisor, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), in Houston, and from 2012 to 2014 she was deputy director of field legal operations for that office in Washington, D.C. She previously held leadership roles within ICE, served as an assistant chief counsel in Phoenix and a special assistant U.S. attorney for Arizona, and began her career as an assistant district attorney in El Paso and in clerkship and advisory positions at the Dallas Immigration Court. She is a member of the State Bar of Texas.
Caseload & process (since 2021)
1,284
Completions per year
6,421 total
0.8%
Detained at decision
share of cases
6.2 mo
Median time to decision
from case start
34.8%
Ordered removed in absentia
person absent
1.7%
Decisions appealed to BIA
appeal rate
4.2%
Appeals remanded or reversed
24 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.
0%⚠
Bond requests granted
1 bond decision Too few cases
—
Median bond when set
—
Released on own recognizance
This judge 0%
National 41.9% · median $6,500
Grant rates by type of relief
Share granted among merits decisions for each application type, since 2021.
Asylum
41.6%
166 decisions Moderate
Withholding / CAT
3%
201 decisions High confidence
Cancellation — 42A (LPR)
100%⚠
2 decisions Too few cases
Adjustment of status (245)
75%⚠
4 decisions Too few cases
Voluntary departure
88.5%⚠
26 decisions Too few cases
41.6%
of asylum claims granted on the merits Moderate
Based on 166 asylum decisions (grants + denials) since 2021.
This judge
41.6%
This court
10.4%
National average
31.8%
0%100% granted
In the top 28% 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 · 147 decisions since 2021
46.3%
Without a lawyer⚠unrepresented · 19 decisions since 2021
5.3%
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).