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 Suzette Smikle was appointed as an immigration judge in October 2022 by Attorney General Merrick B. Garland. She earned a Bachelor of Arts in 1997 from Georgetown University and a Juris Doctor in 2002 from Harvard Law School. She served as a judicial law clerk in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida (2002-2003), a trial attorney in the Department of Justice Consumer Protection Branch (2003-2008), and a regional legal officer with the U.S. Agency for International Development (2008-2010). From 2010 to 2022, she served as an assistant U.S. attorney in the Northern District of Georgia and later the Southern District of Florida, including a detail as Resident Legal Advisor to U.S. embassies in Burundi and Niger. She is a member of the District of Columbia Bar, the Florida Bar, and the State Bar of Georgia.
Caseload & process (since 2021)
2,021
Completions per year
12,126 total
5.4%
Detained at decision
share of cases
23.4 mo
Median time to decision
from case start
43.8%
Ordered removed in absentia
person absent
5.6%
Decisions appealed to BIA
appeal rate
23.2%
Appeals remanded or reversed
112 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.
53.7%
Bond requests granted
95 bond decisions Moderate
$7,500
Median bond when set
54 bonds with amounts
0%
Released on own recognizance
This judge 53.7%
Court average 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
10.3%
573 decisions High confidence
Withholding / CAT
1.5%
916 decisions High confidence
Cancellation — 42B (non-LPR)
19.4%
62 decisions Moderate
Cancellation — 42A (LPR)
100%⚠
4 decisions Too few cases
Adjustment of status (245)
58.8%⚠
17 decisions Too few cases
Voluntary departure
91.6%
251 decisions High confidence
10.3%
of asylum claims granted on the merits High confidence
Based on 573 asylum decisions (grants + denials) since 2021.
This judge
10.3%
This court
10.8%
National average
31.8%
0%100% granted
In the bottom 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 · 457 decisions since 2021
11.6%
Without a lawyerunrepresented · 116 decisions since 2021
5.2%
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).