New Orleans immigration court
Address
New Orleans Immigration Court: One Canal Place, 365 Canal Street, Suite 500, New Orleans, LA 70130
Court decisions over 12 months
In plain words
Out of every 100 cases decided in this court, 1 got relief. Very few cases end with relief.
6 of every 10 cases were decided in absentia, without the person at the hearing. Going to your hearing is the most important thing you can do.
With and without an attorney, the share with relief was similar (3.3 % and 0.1 %).
Of the 9,509 decisions in this court, 130 ended with relief, 956 with the case closed, 403 with voluntary departure and 8,020 with a removal order.
| Outcome | Decisions | % |
|---|---|---|
| Relief | 130 | 1.4 % |
| Case closed | 956 | 10.1 % |
| Voluntary departure | 403 | 4.2 % |
| Removal order | 8,020 | 84.3 % |
| Decided in absentia | 5,905 | 62.1 % |
This court and the nation
With the New Orleans court, the share of cases with relief is 1.4 %: lower than nationwide (2.4 %).
With the New Orleans court, the share of removal orders is 84.3 %: higher than nationwide (75.6 %).
With the New Orleans court, the share of cases decided in absentia is 62.1 %: higher than nationwide (45.3 %).
With the New Orleans court, the share of people with an attorney is 40.9 %: higher than nationwide (38.1 %).
Cases with the New Orleans court take longer than nationwide: a median of 913 days versus 793.
With and without an attorney
| Decisions | Relief | |
|---|---|---|
| With an attorney | 3,885 | 3.3 % |
| Without an attorney | 5,624 | 0.1 % |
Compared with other courts
- Ranked 51 of 71 courts for relief (1 = most relief).
- Ranked 11 of 71 courts for cases decided in absentia (1 = most in absentia).
Decisions per month (Sep 2025 – Aug 2026)
The busiest month was Sep 2025 (1,034 decisions) and the quietest Aug 2026 (493).
| Month | Decisions | Relief | In absentia | Vs. prior month |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 2025 | 1,034 | 12 | 673 | — |
| Oct 2025 | 920 | 10 | 572 | down |
| Nov 2025 | 591 | 4 | 352 | down |
| Dec 2025 | 732 | 2 | 375 | up |
| Jan 2026 | 635 | 12 | 410 | down |
| Feb 2026 | 839 | 6 | 476 | up |
| Mar 2026 | 921 | 21 | 532 | up |
| Apr 2026 | 912 | 15 | 602 | down |
| May 2026 | 745 | 18 | 519 | down |
| Jun 2026 | 974 | 10 | 705 | up |
| Jul 2026 | 713 | 8 | 440 | down |
| Aug 2026 | 493 | 12 | 249 | down |
Months with fewer than 5 decisions are dotted: with so few cases, that month's percentage says little.
Judges at this court
5 judges have this as their main court in the window (2 with limited data). The one who decided the most was Joseph B. La Rocca, with 3,158 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 Joseph B. La Rocca | 3,158 | 1.1 % | 64.2 % | Similar: Relief similar to the other judges in this court |
| Judge Charlotte S. Marquez | 2,411 | 1.2 % | 64.1 % | Similar: Relief similar to the other judges in this court |
| Judge Eric W. Marsteller | 2,408 | 2.2 % | 63.1 % | More relief: More relief than the other judges in this court |
| Judge Kevin P. Guillory | 16 | limited data | limited data | Limited data: Not enough data to compare |
| Judge Alberto DePuy | 2 | limited data | limited data | Limited data: Not enough data to compare |