Appointed May 2024 · President Joe Biden→ Attorney General Merrick Garland(AG inferred from date)
2 years on the immigration bench
Appointed under a Democratic administration
Background
The Honorable Immigration Judge Sarjo Barrow earned a Bachelor of Science in 2010 from John Jay College of Criminal Justice, The City University of New York, and a Juris Doctor in 2013 from the Thomas M. Cooley Law School. He was in private practice in Madison, Wisconsin from 2013 to 2019, and then served as an Assistant Chief Counsel with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's Office of the Principal Legal Advisor in San Francisco (2019-2023) and Baltimore (2023-2024). He was appointed as an immigration judge in May 2024 and sits at the Indianapolis Immigration Court. Judge Barrow is a member of the State Bar of Wisconsin.
Caseload & process (since 2021)
491
Completions per year
2,947 total
12.3%
Detained at decision
share of cases
21.9 mo
Median time to decision
from case start
17.9%
Ordered removed in absentia
person absent
18.6%
Decisions appealed to BIA
appeal rate
0%
Appeals remanded or reversed
22 appeals decided
Grant rates by type of relief
Share granted among merits decisions for each application type, since 2021.
Asylum
15.7%
690 decisions High confidence
Withholding / CAT
2.4%
988 decisions High confidence
Cancellation — 42B (non-LPR)
0%⚠
25 decisions Too few cases
Cancellation — 42A (LPR)
0%⚠
1 decision Too few cases
Adjustment of status (245)
50%⚠
2 decisions Too few cases
Voluntary departure
94.1%
51 decisions Moderate
15.7%
of asylum claims granted on the merits High confidence
Based on 690 asylum decisions (grants + denials) since 2021.
This judge
15.7%
This court
9.8%
National average
31.8%
0%100% granted
In the bottom 32% 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 · 590 decisions since 2021
16.4%
Without a lawyerunrepresented · 100 decisions since 2021
11%
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).