Detroit immigration court
Address
Detroit Immigration Court: 477 Michigan Avenue, Suite 440, Detroit, MI 48226
Court decisions over 12 months
In plain words
Out of every 100 cases decided in this court, 2 got relief. Very few cases end with relief.
20 of every 100 cases were decided in absentia, that is, without the person at the hearing.
With and without an attorney, the share with relief was similar (4.5 % and 0.0 %).
Of the 8,860 decisions in this court, 158 ended with relief, 1,327 with the case closed, 1,297 with voluntary departure and 6,078 with a removal order.
| Outcome | Decisions | % |
|---|---|---|
| Relief | 158 | 1.8 % |
| Case closed | 1,327 | 15.0 % |
| Voluntary departure | 1,297 | 14.6 % |
| Removal order | 6,078 | 68.6 % |
| Decided in absentia | 1,741 | 19.7 % |
This court and the nation
With the Detroit court, the share of cases with relief is 1.8 %: lower than nationwide (2.4 %).
With the Detroit court, the share of removal orders is 68.6 %: lower than nationwide (75.6 %).
With the Detroit court, the share of cases decided in absentia is 19.7 %: lower than nationwide (45.3 %).
With the Detroit court, the share of people with an attorney is 39.0 %: higher than nationwide (38.1 %).
Cases with the Detroit court take less time than nationwide: a median of 610 days versus 793.
With and without an attorney
| Decisions | Relief | |
|---|---|---|
| With an attorney | 3,452 | 4.5 % |
| Without an attorney | 5,408 | 0.0 % |
Compared with other courts
- Ranked 45 of 71 courts for relief (1 = most relief).
- Ranked 50 of 71 courts for cases decided in absentia (1 = most in absentia).
Decisions per month (Sep 2025 – Aug 2026)
The busiest month was Jul 2026 (1,000 decisions) and the quietest Nov 2025 (492).
| Month | Decisions | Relief | In absentia | Vs. prior month |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 2025 | 695 | 28 | 178 | — |
| Oct 2025 | 693 | 18 | 131 | down |
| Nov 2025 | 492 | 8 | 69 | down |
| Dec 2025 | 564 | 10 | 26 | up |
| Jan 2026 | 714 | 4 | 51 | up |
| Feb 2026 | 691 | 5 | 62 | down |
| Mar 2026 | 854 | 13 | 69 | up |
| Apr 2026 | 726 | 8 | 143 | down |
| May 2026 | 651 | 15 | 154 | down |
| Jun 2026 | 830 | 16 | 243 | up |
| Jul 2026 | 1,000 | 20 | 280 | up |
| Aug 2026 | 950 | 13 | 335 | down |
Months with fewer than 5 decisions are dotted: with so few cases, that month's percentage says little.
Judges at this court
14 judges have this as their main court in the window. The one who decided the most was Katherine L. Hansen, with 2,074 decisions.
Sorted by decisions over 12 months. The label compares each judge with the other judges in the court.
| Judge | Decisions | Relief | In absentia | Vs. the court |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Judge Katherine L. Hansen | 2,074 | 4.2 % | 37.7 % | More relief: More relief than the other judges in this court |
| Judge Ian R. Simons | 1,613 | 0.9 % | 30.9 % | Less relief: Less relief than the other judges in this court |
| Judge Mark J. Jebson | 1,428 | 0.6 % | 0.0 % | Less relief: Less relief than the other judges in this court |
| Judge Robert Gundlach | 1,099 | 6.2 % | 48.7 % | More relief: More relief than the other judges in this court |
| Judge Brent Jostad | 813 | 1.8 % | 4.2 % | Similar: Relief similar to the other judges in this court |
| Judge Christopher Cooper | 507 | 1.0 % | 14.4 % | Similar: Relief similar to the other judges in this court |
| Judge David H. Paruch | 391 | 4.9 % | 26.9 % | More relief: More relief than the other judges in this court |
| Judge Jason Thomas | 288 | 6.3 % | 0.0 % | More relief: More relief than the other judges in this court |
| Judge Zol Rainey | 279 | 5.7 % | 2.2 % | More relief: More relief than the other judges in this court |
| Judge Jill K. Krishnan | 217 | 5.5 % | 4.6 % | More relief: More relief than the other judges in this court |
| Judge John Moriarty | 159 | 0.6 % | 3.8 % | Similar: Relief similar to the other judges in this court |
| Judge Denise Kallas | 155 | 2.6 % | 10.3 % | Similar: Relief similar to the other judges in this court |
| Judge Scott F. Hallauer | 83 | 1.2 % | 0.0 % | Similar: Relief similar to the other judges in this court |
| Judge David C. Koelsch | 72 | 6.9 % | 0.0 % | More relief: More relief than the other judges in this court |