Otero immigration court
Address
Otero Immigration Court: 26 McGregor Range Road, Door #1, Chaparral, NM 88081
Court decisions over 12 months
In plain words
Out of every 100 cases decided in this court, 4 got relief. The vast majority end without relief.
0 of every 100 cases were decided in absentia, that is, without the person at the hearing.
With an attorney, 8 of every 100 got relief; without one, 1 of every 100 (8.4 % and 0.5 %).
Of the 5,094 decisions in this court, 211 ended with relief, 148 with the case closed, 1,663 with voluntary departure and 3,072 with a removal order.
| Outcome | Decisions | % |
|---|---|---|
| Relief | 211 | 4.1 % |
| Case closed | 148 | 2.9 % |
| Voluntary departure | 1,663 | 32.7 % |
| Removal order | 3,072 | 60.3 % |
| Decided in absentia | 0 | 0.0 % |
This court and the nation
With the Otero court, the share of cases with relief is 4.1 %: higher than nationwide (2.4 %).
With the Otero court, the share of removal orders is 60.3 %: lower than nationwide (75.6 %).
With the Otero court, the share of cases decided in absentia is 0.0 %: lower than nationwide (45.3 %).
With the Otero court, the share of people with an attorney is 45.8 %: higher than nationwide (38.1 %).
Cases with the Otero court take less time than nationwide: a median of 96 days versus 793.
With and without an attorney
| Decisions | Relief | |
|---|---|---|
| With an attorney | 2,335 | 8.4 % |
| Without an attorney | 2,759 | 0.5 % |
Compared with other courts
- Ranked 18 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 Jan 2026 (564 decisions) and the quietest Apr 2026 (284).
| Month | Decisions | Relief | In absentia | Vs. prior month |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 2025 | 477 | 21 | 0 | — |
| Oct 2025 | 532 | 45 | 0 | up |
| Nov 2025 | 415 | 34 | 0 | down |
| Dec 2025 | 459 | 19 | 0 | up |
| Jan 2026 | 564 | 10 | 0 | up |
| Feb 2026 | 440 | 22 | 0 | down |
| Mar 2026 | 362 | 15 | 0 | down |
| Apr 2026 | 284 | 15 | 0 | down |
| May 2026 | 303 | 4 | 0 | up |
| Jun 2026 | 355 | 10 | 0 | up |
| Jul 2026 | 454 | 7 | 0 | up |
| Aug 2026 | 449 | 9 | 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. The one who decided the most was Jacinto Palomino, with 1,153 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 Jacinto Palomino | 1,153 | 3.1 % | 0.0 % | Less relief: Less relief than the other judges in this court |
| Judge Samuel G. Williams | 840 | 4.2 % | 0.0 % | Similar: Relief similar to the other judges in this court |
| Judge Ralph E. Girvin | 786 | 2.5 % | 0.0 % | Less relief: Less relief than the other judges in this court |
| Judge Steven Meredith | 359 | 5.6 % | 0.0 % | Similar: Relief similar to the other judges in this court |
| Judge Joseph Q. Andelin | 320 | 10.3 % | 22.8 % | More relief: More relief than the other judges in this court |
| Judge Benjamin Kuipers | 294 | 2.0 % | 0.0 % | Similar: Relief similar to the other judges in this court |
| Judge Jared K.A. Williams | 184 | 2.2 % | 0.0 % | Similar: Relief similar to the other judges in this court |