Phoenix immigration court
Address
Phoenix Immigration Court: 250 N. Seventh Avenue, Suite 300, Phoenix, AZ 85007
Court decisions over 12 months
In plain words
Out of every 100 cases decided in this court, 3 got relief. The vast majority end without relief.
4 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 (4.9 % and 0.1 %).
Of the 12,338 decisions in this court, 312 ended with relief, 1,632 with the case closed, 585 with voluntary departure and 9,809 with a removal order.
| Outcome | Decisions | % |
|---|---|---|
| Relief | 312 | 2.5 % |
| Case closed | 1,632 | 13.2 % |
| Voluntary departure | 585 | 4.7 % |
| Removal order | 9,809 | 79.5 % |
| Decided in absentia | 5,444 | 44.1 % |
This court and the nation
With the Phoenix court, the share of cases with relief is 2.5 %: similar than nationwide (2.4 %).
With the Phoenix court, the share of removal orders is 79.5 %: higher than nationwide (75.6 %).
With the Phoenix court, the share of cases decided in absentia is 44.1 %: lower than nationwide (45.3 %).
With the Phoenix court, the share of people with an attorney is 51.3 %: higher than nationwide (38.1 %).
Cases with the Phoenix court take about the same as nationwide: a median of 799 days versus 793.
With and without an attorney
| Decisions | Relief | |
|---|---|---|
| With an attorney | 6,336 | 4.9 % |
| Without an attorney | 6,002 | 0.1 % |
Compared with other courts
- Ranked 37 of 71 courts for relief (1 = most relief).
- Ranked 33 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 (1,408 decisions) and the quietest Dec 2025 (539).
| Month | Decisions | Relief | In absentia | Vs. prior month |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 2025 | 792 | 21 | 401 | — |
| Oct 2025 | 714 | 15 | 368 | down |
| Nov 2025 | 559 | 15 | 269 | down |
| Dec 2025 | 539 | 9 | 250 | down |
| Jan 2026 | 1,026 | 17 | 414 | up |
| Feb 2026 | 1,133 | 24 | 428 | up |
| Mar 2026 | 1,245 | 55 | 418 | up |
| Apr 2026 | 1,245 | 23 | 457 | same |
| May 2026 | 1,252 | 61 | 544 | up |
| Jun 2026 | 1,095 | 19 | 464 | down |
| Jul 2026 | 1,408 | 17 | 757 | up |
| Aug 2026 | 1,330 | 36 | 674 | down |
Months with fewer than 5 decisions are dotted: with so few cases, that month's percentage says little.
Judges at this court
8 judges have this as their main court in the window (1 with limited data). The one who decided the most was John W. Cortes, with 2,186 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 John W. Cortes | 2,186 | 1.1 % | 34.3 % | Less relief: Less relief than the other judges in this court |
| Judge Elizabeth A Cottor | 2,125 | 1.7 % | 47.9 % | Less relief: Less relief than the other judges in this court |
| Judge Paul M. Habich | 2,017 | 3.6 % | 38.9 % | More relief: More relief than the other judges in this court |
| Judge Munish Sharda | 2,014 | 3.1 % | 47.8 % | Similar: Relief similar to the other judges in this court |
| Judge Jennifer I. Gaz | 1,697 | 3.3 % | 45.1 % | More relief: More relief than the other judges in this court |
| Judge Marni Guerrero | 1,565 | 2.0 % | 18.8 % | Similar: Relief similar to the other judges in this court |
| Judge Melissa Beth Karlen | 1,544 | 2.2 % | 54.3 % | Similar: Relief similar to the other judges in this court |
| Judge Joseph S. Imburgia | 11 | limited data | limited data | Limited data: Not enough data to compare |