Otay Mesa immigration court
Address
Otay Mesa Immigration Court: 7488 Calzada de la Fuente, San Diego, CA 92154
Court decisions over 12 months
In plain words
Out of every 100 cases decided in this court, 14 got relief. Even so, most end without relief.
0 of every 100 cases were decided in absentia, that is, without the person at the hearing.
With an attorney, 22 of every 100 got relief; without one, 0 of every 100 (21.7 % and 0.3 %).
Of the 2,094 decisions in this court, 294 ended with relief, 117 with the case closed, 739 with voluntary departure and 944 with a removal order.
| Outcome | Decisions | % |
|---|---|---|
| Relief | 294 | 14.0 % |
| Case closed | 117 | 5.6 % |
| Voluntary departure | 739 | 35.3 % |
| Removal order | 944 | 45.1 % |
| Decided in absentia | 0 | 0.0 % |
This court and the nation
With the Otay Mesa court, the share of cases with relief is 14.0 %: higher than nationwide (2.4 %).
With the Otay Mesa court, the share of removal orders is 45.1 %: lower than nationwide (75.6 %).
With the Otay Mesa court, the share of cases decided in absentia is 0.0 %: lower than nationwide (45.3 %).
With the Otay Mesa court, the share of people with an attorney is 64.2 %: higher than nationwide (38.1 %).
Cases with the Otay Mesa court take less time than nationwide: a median of 145 days versus 793.
With and without an attorney
| Decisions | Relief | |
|---|---|---|
| With an attorney | 1,344 | 21.7 % |
| Without an attorney | 750 | 0.3 % |
Compared with other courts
- Ranked 2 of 71 courts for relief (1 = most relief).
- Ranked 68 of 71 courts for cases decided in absentia (1 = most in absentia).
Decisions per month (Sep 2025 – Aug 2026)
The busiest month was Oct 2025 (243 decisions) and the quietest May 2026 (140).
| Month | Decisions | Relief | In absentia | Vs. prior month |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 2025 | 226 | 42 | 0 | — |
| Oct 2025 | 243 | 34 | 0 | up |
| Nov 2025 | 169 | 17 | 0 | down |
| Dec 2025 | 183 | 25 | 0 | up |
| Jan 2026 | 158 | 16 | 0 | down |
| Feb 2026 | 182 | 22 | 0 | up |
| Mar 2026 | 172 | 31 | 0 | down |
| Apr 2026 | 148 | 34 | 0 | down |
| May 2026 | 140 | 27 | 0 | down |
| Jun 2026 | 141 | 25 | 0 | up |
| Jul 2026 | 179 | 10 | 0 | up |
| Aug 2026 | 153 | 11 | 0 | down |
Months with fewer than 5 decisions are dotted: with so few cases, that month's percentage says little.
Judges at this court
7 judges have this as their main court in the window (1 with limited data). The one who decided the most was Mark Sameit, with 699 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 Mark Sameit | 699 | 7.1 % | 0.0 % | Less relief: Less relief than the other judges in this court |
| Judge Eugene H. Robinson JR. | 564 | 16.3 % | 0.0 % | Similar: Relief similar to the other judges in this court |
| Judge Leah Obrien | 229 | 10.5 % | 1.8 % | Similar: Relief similar to the other judges in this court |
| Judge John T. Driscoll | 150 | 20.0 % | 14.7 % | More relief: More relief than the other judges in this court |
| Judge Ferdinand J. Ortiz | 122 | 47.5 % | 0.0 % | More relief: More relief than the other judges in this court |
| Judge Paula Dixon | 77 | 18.2 % | 0.0 % | Similar: Relief similar to the other judges in this court |
| Judge Nickolaus Schlegel | 16 | limited data | limited data | Limited data: Not enough data to compare |