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

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

Immigration judges

Anita L. Simons

Immigration Judge, Los Angeles - West Los Angeles Immigration Court. Appointed October 2018 by Jeff Sessions.

Asylum record, FY 2021-2026

TRAC source →
Judge Simons60.7%
Los Angeles - WLA court61.2%
All judges nationally62.9%
Decisions on the merits
1,241
Asylum granted
405
Other relief granted
83
Denied
753
Against own court
-0.5 pts
Denial rate by fiscal year
FY21FY22FY23FY24FY25FY26
48%43%25%25%60%90%

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

Docket

Respondents represented by counsel: 95% (nationally, 81% are represented).

Most common nationalities: Guatemala (16.4%), Mexico (11.3%), Nicaragua (11.3%), El Salvador (11%), China (10.6%).

Official biography

Attorney General Jeff Sessions appointed Anita L. Simons to begin hearing cases in October 2018. Judge Simons ear ned dual Bachelor of Arts deg rees in 1999 from the University of Arizona and a Juris Doctor in 2005 from the University of Arizona James E. Rogers College of Law. From 2013 to 2018, she served as an administrative law judge with the Executive Hearing Office, Arizona Department of Transportation. From 2007 to 2013, she was a deputy county attorney with the Criminal Division, Pima County Attorney's Office, in Arizona. Judge Simonsis a member of the State Bar of Arizona.

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 Los Angeles - WLA

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.