Immigration judge

Judge Jem C. Sponzo

Immigration Judge at New York City, NY

21.8%Grant rate · all years
Jem C. Sponzo21.8%
Court median judge30.7%
National16.6%

EOIR data through Sep 1, 2026 · updated monthly

1,575
Granted
5,641
Denied
7,216
Total Decided
Snapshot answer

The 2026-09-01 snapshot lists a 21.8% historical asylum grant rate for Jem C. Sponzo at New York City, NY, based on 1,575 grants and 5,641 denials (7,216 decided outcomes).

The 2026-09-01 EOIR snapshot lists Jem C. Sponzo with New York City, NY. With an asylum approval rate of 21.8%, this judge is above 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.

Community Discussion

DATA

News: Immigration Judge Jem C. Sponzo reported removed from the bench

According to public news reporting, Immigration Judge Jem C. Sponzo was reported to have left the EOIR immigration bench in 2026 (fired, terminated, or not renewed) as part of the 2025–2026 wave of immigration-judge dismissals.

Source: https://nysfocus.com/2026/05/23/trump-fires-two-nyc-immigration-judges-sponzo-dandelet

This post summarizes publicly reported news and links to the original source. Details may be updated as more information becomes available.

Have experience with this judge? Open AsylumTracker to reply or read more responses from the community.

How to Interpret These Judge Statistics

Jem C. Sponzo is listed with the New York City, NY Immigration Court. The headline asylum grant rate shown here is 21.8% based on granted and denied asylum decisions represented in the current dataset.

Among the largest nationality groups shown for this judge, the table highlights Guatemala (1,522 decided, 1.7% grant rate), Ecuador (935 decided, 6.6% grant rate), and China (448 decided, 56.2% 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 Other procedural outcomes, including terminated, withdrawn, administratively closed, or removed cases, are tracked separately where available and are not treated as asylum grants.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 Breakdown

NationalityCasesGrant rate
Guatemala 1,522 1.7%
Ecuador 935 6.6%
China 448 56.2%
Honduras 399 6.3%
El Salvador 306 10.8%
India 277 42.6%
Bangladesh 176 47.2%
Mexico 160 25.6%

Yearly Trends

YearCasesGrant rate
2026 1,597 2.4%
2025 1,075 7.3%
2024 937 16.5%
2023 673 30.9%
2022 787 26.8%
2021 100 66.0%
2020 394 32.0%

Frequently Asked Questions

What is Judge Jem C. Sponzo's asylum grant rate?

Judge Jem C. Sponzo granted asylum in 21.8% of 7,216 decided cases (grants plus denials), according to EOIR data.

Does Judge Jem C. Sponzo grant asylum more or less often than other judges?

The rate (21.8%) is above the 16.6% national rate; the median judge at New York City, NY grants 30.7%. It is a historical average, not a prediction for any one case.

How is this grant rate calculated?

Grants divided by grants plus denials. Terminations, withdrawals and administrative closures are not counted.

Other judges at this court