Immigration judge
Immigration Judge at Houston, TX
EOIR data through Sep 1, 2026 · updated monthly
The 2026-09-01 snapshot lists a 2.7% historical asylum grant rate for ZAHRA JIVANI FENELON at Houston, TX, based on 44 grants and 1,557 denials (1,601 decided outcomes).
The 2026-09-01 EOIR snapshot lists ZAHRA JIVANI FENELON with Houston, TX. With an asylum approval rate of 2.7%, this judge is below average compared to the national average. Data sourced from EOIR (Executive Office for Immigration Review). Historical listings do not by themselves establish a current assignment.
Immigration Judge ZAHRA JIVANI FENELON was named in a federal lawsuit (Espinoza v. Blanche, filed May 2026) as among the immigration judges the U.S. Department of Justice fired. This reflects an allegation in a court filing, subject to further proceedings.
Source: https://www.justsecurity.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/Espinoza-v.-Blanche-Complaint.pdf
This post summarizes a public court filing and links to the source.
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ZAHRA JIVANI FENELON is listed with the Houston, TX Immigration Court. The headline asylum grant rate shown here is 2.7% based on granted and denied asylum decisions represented in the current dataset.
Among the largest nationality groups shown for this judge, the table highlights Honduras (439 decided, 0.5% grant rate), Mexico (288 decided, 3.1% grant rate), and Guatemala (208 decided, 0.0% grant rate). Compare these rows with the judge's overall rate because nationality mix can materially change how the headline number should be read.
Grant rate is calculated as granted / (granted + denied). Other procedural outcomes, including terminated, withdrawn, administratively closed, or removed cases, are tracked separately where available and are not treated as asylum grants.
This page is based on public EOIR data last updated 2026-09-01. It is for research and information only, not legal advice.
Read the grant-rate methodology or learn how to read immigration judge statistics.
| Nationality | Cases | Grant rate |
|---|---|---|
| Honduras | 439 | 0.5% |
| Mexico | 288 | 3.1% |
| Guatemala | 208 | 0.0% |
| El Salvador | 140 | 0.7% |
| Venezuela | 133 | 6.0% |
| Nicaragua | 109 | 1.8% |
| Cuba | 61 | 14.8% |
| Colombia | 60 | 6.7% |
| Year | Cases | Grant rate |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 594 | 2.2% |
| 2024 | 867 | 3.3% |
| 2023 | 51 | 3.9% |
| 2022 | 5 | 0.0% |
| 2020 | 1 | 0.0% |
Judge ZAHRA JIVANI FENELON granted asylum in 2.7% of 1,601 decided cases (grants plus denials), according to EOIR data.
The rate (2.7%) is below the 16.6% national rate; the median judge at Houston, TX grants 4.0%. It is a historical average, not a prediction for any one case.
Grants divided by grants plus denials. Terminations, withdrawals and administrative closures are not counted.
