San Antonio immigration court
Address
San Antonio Immigration Court: 800 Dolorosa Street, Suite 300, San Antonio, TX 78207
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.
8 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 (4.8 % and 0.0 %).
Of the 24,800 decisions in this court, 218 ended with relief, 3,409 with the case closed, 677 with voluntary departure and 20,496 with a removal order.
| Outcome | Decisions | % |
|---|---|---|
| Relief | 218 | 0.9 % |
| Case closed | 3,409 | 13.8 % |
| Voluntary departure | 677 | 2.7 % |
| Removal order | 20,496 | 82.7 % |
| Decided in absentia | 18,733 | 75.5 % |
This court and the nation
With the San Antonio court, the share of cases with relief is 0.9 %: lower than nationwide (2.4 %).
With the San Antonio court, the share of removal orders is 82.7 %: higher than nationwide (75.6 %).
With the San Antonio court, the share of cases decided in absentia is 75.5 %: higher than nationwide (45.3 %).
With the San Antonio court, the share of people with an attorney is 17.8 %: lower than nationwide (38.1 %).
Cases with the San Antonio court take longer than nationwide: a median of 896 days versus 793.
With and without an attorney
| Decisions | Relief | |
|---|---|---|
| With an attorney | 4,417 | 4.8 % |
| Without an attorney | 20,383 | 0.0 % |
Compared with other courts
- Ranked 62 of 71 courts for relief (1 = most relief).
- Ranked 3 of 71 courts for cases decided in absentia (1 = most in absentia).
Decisions per month (Sep 2025 – Aug 2026)
The busiest month was Jun 2026 (4,930 decisions) and the quietest Nov 2025 (926).
| Month | Decisions | Relief | In absentia | Vs. prior month |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 2025 | 969 | 14 | 441 | — |
| Oct 2025 | 1,299 | 20 | 832 | up |
| Nov 2025 | 926 | 11 | 610 | down |
| Dec 2025 | 1,101 | 10 | 579 | up |
| Jan 2026 | 1,207 | 17 | 852 | up |
| Feb 2026 | 1,229 | 6 | 898 | up |
| Mar 2026 | 1,287 | 31 | 990 | up |
| Apr 2026 | 1,301 | 13 | 977 | up |
| May 2026 | 2,040 | 14 | 1,641 | up |
| Jun 2026 | 4,930 | 35 | 4,332 | up |
| Jul 2026 | 4,674 | 22 | 3,670 | down |
| Aug 2026 | 3,837 | 25 | 2,911 | down |
Months with fewer than 5 decisions are dotted: with so few cases, that month's percentage says little.
Judges at this court
18 judges have this as their main court in the window (3 with limited data). The one who decided the most was Rifian S. Newaz, with 3,921 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 Rifian S. Newaz | 3,921 | 1.0 % | 64.8 % | Similar: Relief similar to the other judges in this court |
| Judge Charles M. Mccullough | 3,099 | 1.6 % | 72.8 % | More relief: More relief than the other judges in this court |
| Judge Cynthia Lafuente | 3,075 | 0.8 % | 63.7 % | Similar: Relief similar to the other judges in this court |
| Judge Eric J. Tijerina | 3,031 | 0.1 % | 64.8 % | Less relief: Less relief than the other judges in this court |
| Judge Daniel J. Santander | 2,666 | 1.1 % | 72.6 % | Similar: Relief similar to the other judges in this court |
| Judge Yvonne S. Gonzalez | 2,495 | 1.2 % | 70.6 % | More relief: More relief than the other judges in this court |
| Judge Elizabeth Martinez | 2,470 | 0.3 % | 71.7 % | Less relief: Less relief than the other judges in this court |
| Judge Justin Adams | 2,111 | 0.2 % | 70.9 % | Less relief: Less relief than the other judges in this court |
| Judge Anibal D. Martinez | 1,848 | 0.3 % | 60.3 % | Less relief: Less relief than the other judges in this court |
| Judge Meredith B. Tyrakoski | 1,422 | 0.8 % | 57.0 % | Similar: Relief similar to the other judges in this court |
| Judge Laura C. Figueroa | 1,220 | 3.3 % | 44.8 % | More relief: More relief than the other judges in this court |
| Judge Brittany A. Rodriquez | 585 | 0.3 % | 84.4 % | Similar: Relief similar to the other judges in this court |
| Judge Margaret D. Burkhart | 392 | 6.4 % | 41.6 % | More relief: More relief than the other judges in this court |
| Judge Keira Poellet | 290 | 5.5 % | 47.9 % | More relief: More relief than the other judges in this court |
| Judge Kamra Craig | 286 | 0.7 % | 41.3 % | Similar: Relief similar to the other judges in this court |
| Judge Warren R. Kaufman | 49 | limited data | limited data | Limited data: Not enough data to compare |
| Judge Maureen Zumwalt | 31 | limited data | limited data | Limited data: Not enough data to compare |
| Judge Craig A. Harlow | 3 | limited data | limited data | Limited data: Not enough data to compare |