Judge John Burns
How is this compared?
This judge: 8 of 1,852 (0.4 %) got relief (includes their cases in other courts). The other judges in the court: 879 of 20,236 (4.3 %). 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 (8 of 1,852).
5 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 (0.8 % and 0.0 %).
Of their 1,852 decisions, 8 ended with relief, 20 with the case closed, 98 with voluntary departure and 1,726 with a removal order.
| Outcome | Decisions | % |
|---|---|---|
| Relief | 8 | 0.4 % |
| Case closed | 20 | 1.1 % |
| Voluntary departure | 98 | 5.3 % |
| Removal order | 1,726 | 93.2 % |
| Decided in absentia | 923 | 49.8 % |
This judge, the court and the nation
With John Burns, the share of cases with relief is 0.4 %: lower than at the New York court (4.2 %) and lower than nationwide (2.4 %).
With John Burns, the share of removal orders is 93.2 %: higher than at the New York court (88.1 %) and higher than nationwide (75.6 %).
With John Burns, the share of cases decided in absentia is 49.8 %: lower than at the New York court (53.0 %) and higher than nationwide (45.3 %).
With John Burns, the share of people with an attorney is 52.3 %: higher than at the New York court (48.6 %) and higher than nationwide (38.1 %).
Cases with John Burns take about the same as at the New York court: a median of 801 days versus 777.
Compared with other judges
- Ranked 26 of 26 for relief among the judges of their court (1 = most relief).
- Ranked 13 of 26 for cases decided in absentia (1 = most in absentia).
- Ranked 19 of 26 for speed (1 = fastest).
- Grants relief more often than 16 of every 100 judges nationwide (among 850 judges with 50 or more decisions).
Decisions per month (Sep 2025 – Aug 2026)
The busiest month was Feb 2026 (320 decisions) and the quietest Jun 2026 (3).
| Month | Decisions | Relief | In absentia | Vs. prior month |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 2025 | 166 | 0 | 94 | — |
| Oct 2025 | 204 | 1 | 92 | up |
| Nov 2025 | 182 | 1 | 98 | down |
| Dec 2025 | 170 | 1 | 91 | down |
| Jan 2026 | 76 | 0 | 33 | down |
| Feb 2026 | 320 | 1 | 200 | up |
| Mar 2026 | 202 | 1 | 55 | down |
| Apr 2026 | 167 | 0 | 66 | down |
| May 2026 | 239 | 0 | 151 | up |
| Jun 2026 | 3 | 0 | 0 | down |
| Jul 2026 | 83 | 0 | 36 | up |
| Aug 2026 | 40 | 3 | 7 | 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 John Burns is Ecuador (459), followed by Venezuela, Senegal, Colombia and Dominican Republic. The highest share with relief was for people from Dominican Republic (1.0 %).
| Country of origin | Decisions | Relief | In absentia |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ecuador | 459 | 0.0 % | 57.7 % |
| Venezuela | 227 | 0.0 % | 59.9 % |
| Senegal | 105 | 0.0 % | 59.1 % |
| Colombia | 99 | 0.0 % | 60.6 % |
| Dominican Republic | 98 | 1.0 % | 83.7 % |
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 | 968 | 0.8 % |
| Without an attorney | 884 | 0.0 % |
Where this judge decides
- New York - Broadway Immigration Court: 1,011 decisions (54.6 %)
- New York - Federal Plaza Immigration Court: 663 decisions (35.8 %)
- Pearsall Immigration Court: 129 decisions (7.0 %)
- Fort Snelling Immigration Court: 32 decisions (1.7 %)
- Philadelphia Immigration Court: 9 decisions (0.5 %)
- Indianapolis Immigration Court: 4 decisions (0.2 %)
- Port Isabel Immigration Court: 2 decisions (0.1 %)
- Annandale Immigration Court: 1 decisions (0.1 %)
- Newark Immigration Court: 1 decisions (0.1 %)