San Diego immigration court
Address
San Diego Immigration Court: 880 Front Street, Suite 4240, San Diego, CA 92101
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 (4.3 % and 0.1 %).
Of the 3,732 decisions in this court, 112 ended with relief, 1,031 with the case closed, 169 with voluntary departure and 2,420 with a removal order.
| Outcome | Decisions | % |
|---|---|---|
| Relief | 112 | 3.0 % |
| Case closed | 1,031 | 27.6 % |
| Voluntary departure | 169 | 4.5 % |
| Removal order | 2,420 | 64.8 % |
| Decided in absentia | 1,358 | 36.4 % |
This court and the nation
With the San Diego court, the share of cases with relief is 3.0 %: higher than nationwide (2.4 %).
With the San Diego court, the share of removal orders is 64.8 %: lower than nationwide (75.6 %).
With the San Diego court, the share of cases decided in absentia is 36.4 %: lower than nationwide (45.3 %).
With the San Diego court, the share of people with an attorney is 69.4 %: higher than nationwide (38.1 %).
Cases with the San Diego court take less time than nationwide: a median of 712 days versus 793.
With and without an attorney
| Decisions | Relief | |
|---|---|---|
| With an attorney | 2,588 | 4.3 % |
| Without an attorney | 1,144 | 0.1 % |
Compared with other courts
- Ranked 28 of 71 courts for relief (1 = most relief).
- Ranked 39 of 71 courts for cases decided in absentia (1 = most in absentia).
Decisions per month (Sep 2025 – Aug 2026)
The busiest month was Mar 2026 (438 decisions) and the quietest Aug 2026 (171).
| Month | Decisions | Relief | In absentia | Vs. prior month |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 2025 | 422 | 1 | 202 | — |
| Oct 2025 | 434 | 7 | 168 | up |
| Nov 2025 | 236 | 6 | 114 | down |
| Dec 2025 | 227 | 11 | 94 | down |
| Jan 2026 | 288 | 9 | 112 | up |
| Feb 2026 | 263 | 6 | 95 | down |
| Mar 2026 | 438 | 26 | 88 | up |
| Apr 2026 | 388 | 10 | 116 | down |
| May 2026 | 325 | 11 | 102 | down |
| Jun 2026 | 356 | 12 | 146 | up |
| Jul 2026 | 184 | 8 | 65 | down |
| Aug 2026 | 171 | 5 | 56 | 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 Olga E. Attia, with 890 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 Olga E. Attia | 890 | 0.1 % | 24.5 % | Less relief: Less relief than the other judges in this court |
| Judge Amelia Anderson | 774 | 3.6 % | 32.0 % | Similar: Relief similar to the other judges in this court |
| Judge Jose L., JR. Penalosa | 736 | 1.8 % | 29.5 % | Less relief: Less relief than the other judges in this court |
| Judge Lindsay W. Pepi | 679 | 1.8 % | 33.0 % | Similar: Relief similar to the other judges in this court |
| Judge Scott Simpson | 651 | 1.7 % | 36.6 % | Less relief: Less relief than the other judges in this court |
| Judge Catherine E. Halliday-Roberts | 590 | 3.1 % | 41.7 % | Similar: Relief similar to the other judges in this court |
| Judge Meghan E. Heesch | 417 | 11.3 % | 23.5 % | More relief: More relief than the other judges in this court |