Sacramento immigration court
Address
Sacramento Immigration Court: John Moss Federal Building, 650 Capitol Mall, Suite 4-200, Sacramento, CA 95814
Court decisions over 12 months
In plain words
Out of every 100 cases decided in this court, 9 got relief. Even so, most 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 an attorney, 19 of every 100 got relief; without one, 2 of every 100 (18.7 % and 2.2 %).
Of the 3,433 decisions in this court, 317 ended with relief, 299 with the case closed, 103 with voluntary departure and 2,714 with a removal order.
| Outcome | Decisions | % |
|---|---|---|
| Relief | 317 | 9.2 % |
| Case closed | 299 | 8.7 % |
| Voluntary departure | 103 | 3.0 % |
| Removal order | 2,714 | 79.1 % |
| Decided in absentia | 1,382 | 40.3 % |
This court and the nation
With the Sacramento court, the share of cases with relief is 9.2 %: higher than nationwide (2.4 %).
With the Sacramento court, the share of removal orders is 79.1 %: higher than nationwide (75.6 %).
With the Sacramento court, the share of cases decided in absentia is 40.3 %: lower than nationwide (45.3 %).
With the Sacramento court, the share of people with an attorney is 42.7 %: higher than nationwide (38.1 %).
Cases with the Sacramento court take about the same as nationwide: a median of 782 days versus 793.
With and without an attorney
| Decisions | Relief | |
|---|---|---|
| With an attorney | 1,466 | 18.7 % |
| Without an attorney | 1,967 | 2.2 % |
Compared with other courts
- Ranked 5 of 71 courts for relief (1 = most relief).
- Ranked 35 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 (524 decisions) and the quietest Feb 2026 (128).
| Month | Decisions | Relief | In absentia | Vs. prior month |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 2025 | 524 | 103 | 279 | — |
| Oct 2025 | 358 | 67 | 152 | down |
| Nov 2025 | 259 | 50 | 103 | down |
| Dec 2025 | 309 | 25 | 95 | up |
| Jan 2026 | 227 | 8 | 72 | down |
| Feb 2026 | 128 | 13 | 28 | down |
| Mar 2026 | 179 | 14 | 46 | up |
| Apr 2026 | 222 | 12 | 88 | up |
| May 2026 | 180 | 2 | 59 | down |
| Jun 2026 | 350 | 7 | 158 | up |
| Jul 2026 | 431 | 10 | 192 | up |
| Aug 2026 | 266 | 6 | 110 | 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 Susan Phan, with 1,473 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 Susan Phan | 1,473 | 5.9 % | 26.2 % | Less relief: Less relief than the other judges in this court |
| Judge Jonathan W. Hitesman | 1,462 | 1.6 % | 34.9 % | Less relief: Less relief than the other judges in this court |
| Judge Vikram Badrinath | 896 | 10.6 % | 28.2 % | More relief: More relief than the other judges in this court |
| Judge Denise Hunter | 254 | 20.9 % | 43.3 % | More relief: More relief than the other judges in this court |
| Judge Bayleigh Pettigrew | 145 | 6.2 % | 28.3 % | Similar: Relief similar to the other judges in this court |
| Judge Loreto Geisse | 66 | 1.5 % | 60.6 % | Less relief: Less relief than the other judges in this court |
| Judge Print Maggard | 54 | 53.7 % | 35.2 % | More relief: More relief than the other judges in this court |