Judge James F. Polivka
How is this compared?
This judge: 11 of 5,479 (0.2 %) got relief (includes their cases in other courts). The other judges in the court: 280 of 58,180 (0.5 %). We say "more" or "less" only when the difference is statistically clear (two-proportion test, 95%); otherwise "similar".
Decisions over 12 months
In plain words
Fewer than 1 in 100 cases this judge decided got relief (11 of 5,479).
7 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 (1.4 % and 0.0 %).
Of their 5,479 decisions, 11 ended with relief, 482 with the case closed, 135 with voluntary departure and 4,851 with a removal order.
| Outcome | Decisions | % |
|---|---|---|
| Relief | 11 | 0.2 % |
| Case closed | 482 | 8.8 % |
| Voluntary departure | 135 | 2.5 % |
| Removal order | 4,851 | 88.5 % |
| Decided in absentia | 4,034 | 73.6 % |
This judge, the court and the nation
With James F. Polivka, the share of cases with relief is 0.2 %: similar than at the Dallas court (0.4 %) and lower than nationwide (2.4 %).
With James F. Polivka, the share of removal orders is 88.5 %: higher than at the Dallas court (87.0 %) and higher than nationwide (75.6 %).
With James F. Polivka, the share of cases decided in absentia is 73.6 %: higher than at the Dallas court (72.2 %) and higher than nationwide (45.3 %).
With James F. Polivka, the share of people with an attorney is 14.2 %: lower than at the Dallas court (21.9 %) and lower than nationwide (38.1 %).
Cases with James F. Polivka take less time than at the Dallas court: a median of 821 days versus 926.
Compared with other judges
- Ranked 23 of 31 for relief among the judges of their court (1 = most relief).
- Ranked 8 of 31 for cases decided in absentia (1 = most in absentia).
- Ranked 7 of 31 for speed (1 = fastest).
- Grants relief more often than 10 of every 100 judges nationwide (among 850 judges with 50 or more decisions).
Decisions per month (Sep 2025 – Aug 2026)
The busiest month was Mar 2026 (732 decisions) and the quietest Aug 2026 (18).
| Month | Decisions | Relief | In absentia | Vs. prior month |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 2025 | 343 | 2 | 265 | — |
| Oct 2025 | 416 | 4 | 302 | up |
| Nov 2025 | 329 | 0 | 260 | down |
| Dec 2025 | 354 | 0 | 272 | up |
| Jan 2026 | 475 | 0 | 325 | up |
| Feb 2026 | 404 | 0 | 237 | down |
| Mar 2026 | 732 | 3 | 453 | up |
| Apr 2026 | 596 | 0 | 438 | down |
| May 2026 | 446 | 2 | 319 | down |
| Jun 2026 | 641 | 0 | 524 | up |
| Jul 2026 | 725 | 0 | 636 | up |
| Aug 2026 | 18 | 0 | 3 | down |
Months with fewer than 5 decisions are dotted: with so few cases, that month's percentage says little.
By nationality
The nationality with the most decisions before James F. Polivka is Mexico (1,503), followed by Venezuela, Honduras, Cuba and Guatemala. The highest share with relief was for people from Cuba (0.2 %).
| Country of origin | Decisions | Relief | In absentia |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mexico | 1,503 | 0.2 % | 81.4 % |
| Venezuela | 1,220 | 0.0 % | 77.5 % |
| Honduras | 962 | 0.0 % | 88.1 % |
| Cuba | 436 | 0.2 % | 7.3 % |
| Guatemala | 432 | 0.0 % | 82.4 % |
Only countries with 25 or more decisions with this judge; cases without a recorded nationality are not included.
With and without an attorney
| Decisions | Relief | |
|---|---|---|
| With an attorney | 777 | 1.4 % |
| Without an attorney | 4,702 | 0.0 % |
Where this judge decides
- Dallas Immigration Court: 5,361 decisions (97.9 %)
- El Paso SPC Immigration Court: 46 decisions (0.8 %)
- Pearsall Immigration Court: 22 decisions (0.4 %)
- Las Vegas Immigration Court: 18 decisions (0.3 %)
- Oakdale Immigration Court: 18 decisions (0.3 %)
- Otero Immigration Court: 10 decisions (0.2 %)
- LaSalle Immigration Court: 2 decisions (0.0 %)
- Port Isabel Immigration Court: 2 decisions (0.0 %)