New York · est. 2013Friday, September 4, 2026
Inside Immigration

Plain-language guides to US immigration, asylum and USCIS procedure.

Immigration judges

Abraham L. Burgess

Immigration Judge, Miami Immigration Court. Appointed May 2019 by William P. Barr.

Asylum record, FY 2021-2026

TRAC source →
Judge Burgess64.8%
Miami court71.5%
All judges nationally62.9%
Decisions on the merits
685
Asylum granted
191
Other relief granted
50
Denied
444
Against own court
-6.7 pts
Denial rate by fiscal year
FY21FY22FY23FY24FY25FY26
75%69%70%30%63%67%

Read from TRAC's chart to the nearest point. Years with fewer than 25 decisions are not shown.

Docket

Respondents represented by counsel: 85% (nationally, 81% are represented).

Most common nationalities: Guatemala (15%), Brazil (13.6%), Nicaragua (13%), Honduras (12.8%), Haiti (9.2%).

Official biography

Attorney General William Barr appointed Abraham L. Burgess to begin hearing cases in May 2019. Judge Burgess ear ned a Bachelor of Science in 1999 from Northwestern University and a Juris Doctor in 2002 from Boston University School of Law. From 2012 to 2019, he served as an assistant chief counsel, Office of the Chief Counsel, Immigration and Customs Enforcement,Department of Homeland Security, in Texas and California. From 2003 to 2011, he served as judge advocate for the U.S. Army in the following locations: Dongducheon, South Korea;Giessen and Vilseck Germany; Mihail Kogălniceanu, Romania; and Alexandria, Virginia. Judge Burgess is a member of the Massachusetts State Bar.

As published by the Executive Office for Immigration Review at appointment, via TRAC.

In the record

No published reporting or appellate decisions naming this judge have been collected yet.

Other judges at Miami

Court page →

About these figures. Denial rates describe outcomes in the cases a judge happened to hear, which differ by detention, nationality and representation. They are not a measure of fairness or competence. Method and sources are on the judges index.