EOIR / Immigration Court

Newark Immigration Court — Asylum Decision Statistics

Aggregated asylum decision statistics across all immigration judges currently sitting at the Newark Immigration Court, based on FOIA-released EOIR data.

Latest 12-month grant rate

7.9%

Asylum decisions, trailing 12 months

Lifetime total cases

22,983

All recorded asylum decisions

FY2024 court average

52.7%

Stable benchmark: Oct 2023 – Sep 2024

FY2024 reflects pre-2025 case-management practice and may differ materially from the rolling 12-month rate because of 2025 asylum-policy changes (more cases closed administratively, shifting the merit-decision mix).

Last data refresh

2026-05-19

From Deportation Data Project FOIA release

Monthly grant-rate trend

0%25%50%75%100%

Which immigration judges work at the Newark Immigration Court?

The table below lists every judge with substantive asylum case volume in the last 24 months at the Newark Immigration Court. The 12-month grant rate column reflects the trailing year ending 2026-05-19. Lifetime cases counts all recorded asylum decisions for each judge across the FOIA-released dataset.

Judge12-month grant rateLifetime cases
Akalski, Maria I.0.4%298
Chen, Shana W.8.6%1,607
Cheng, David4.1%999
Counihan, Brian0.0%63
Finston, Leo A.4.0%964
Lane, Nicole0.0%158
Moore, Carol0.0%78
Mullican, Leila Mcneill.16.3%635
Neal, Michael M.5.3%520
Pierro, Laura N.94.1%564
Ranasinghe, Arya S.45.1%660
Rastegar, Ramin8.9%1,015
Riefkohl, Alberto J.0.0%3,139
Ryan, Dennis23.1%154
Wilson, Tamar H.76.5%769

Frequently asked questions

What is the asylum grant rate at the Newark Immigration Court?

Over the trailing 12 months, the Newark Immigration Court granted asylum in 7.9% of decided cases. The fiscal year 2024 (Oct 2023 – Sep 2024) court-wide average was 52.7%. The two numbers may differ because policy and caseload shifts can move rates significantly year-over-year.

How many immigration judges work at the Newark Immigration Court?

Based on the most recent FOIA-released EOIR data, 15 immigration judges are listed as actively sitting at the Newark Immigration Court with asylum case volume in the last 24 months. The full judge roster, each with their individual grant rate, appears below.

How many asylum decisions has the Newark Immigration Court issued total?

The Newark Immigration Court has issued 22,983 recorded asylum decisions across the full FOIA-released dataset. This includes both grants and denials but excludes administrative outcomes (cases dismissed, terminated, or closed without a merits ruling).

How is the asylum grant rate calculated?

Grant rate = (cases with case_outcome of "Relief Granted") divided by (cases with case_outcome of "Relief Granted" or "Remove"). Cases closed administratively — dismissed, terminated, voluntary departure — are excluded from the denominator. This is the standard methodology used by TRAC Immigration (Syracuse) and the Deportation Data Project (UC Berkeley).

Browse other US immigration courts

Asylum grant rates vary widely between courts. Compare with these high-volume immigration courts:

Methodology & sources

Primary source
Deportation Data Project (UC Berkeley) — FOIA-released EOIR case-level data.
Secondary source
TRAC Immigration (Syracuse University) — independent corroboration of grant-rate aggregates.
Last data refresh
2026-05-19

Statistical data only. Case outcomes depend on case-specific merits, evidence, and counsel quality. This page is provided for informational purposes and does not constitute legal advice or a guarantee of any outcome.