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

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

Immigration judges

Arkesia Jenkins

Immigration Judge, Houston South Gessner Immigration Court. Appointed March 2020 by William P. Barr.

Asylum record, FY 2021-2026

TRAC source →
Judge Jenkins85.2%
Houston - Gessner court82.0%
All judges nationally62.9%
Decisions on the merits
640
Asylum granted
29
Other relief granted
66
Denied
545
Against own court
+3.2 pts
Denial rate by fiscal year
FY21FY22FY23FY24FY25FY26
17%76%74%96%93%94%

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

Docket

Respondents represented by counsel: 82% (nationally, 81% are represented).

Most common nationalities: Honduras (21.4%), El Salvador (21.1%), Mexico (12.7%), Venezuela (8.4%), Guatemala (8.1%).

Official biography

Attorney General William P. Barr appointed Arkesia S. Jenkins as an immigration judge in March 2020. Judge Jenkins ear ned a Bachelor of Arts in 2007 from Albany State University anda Juris Doctor in 2010 from the University of Georgia School of Law. From 2017 to 2020, sheserved as an assistant chief counsel, Office of Chief Counsel, Office of the Principal Legal Advisor, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Department of Homeland Security, in Atlanta. From 2013 to 2016, she served as an assistant district attorney with the Flint Judicial Circuit, in Mc Donough, Georgia. From 2010 to 2013, she served as an assistant district attorney with the Dougherty Judicial Circuit, in Albany, Georgia. Judge Jenkins is a member of the Georgia 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 Houston - Gessner

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.