New York · est. 2013Thursday, September 24, 2026
Inside Immigration

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

Immigration judges

Arwen Ann Swink

Immigration Judge, San Francisco Immigration Court. Appointed February 2017 by Loretta E. Lynch.

Asylum record, FY 2021-2026

TRAC source →
Judge Swink15.9%
San Francisco court28.4%
All judges nationally62.9%
Decisions on the merits
860
Asylum granted
686
Other relief granted
37
Denied
137
Against own court
-12.5 pts
Denial rate by fiscal year
FY21FY22FY23FY24FY25
13%12%15%13%28%

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

Docket

Respondents represented by counsel: 94% (nationally, 81% are represented).

Most common nationalities: India (23.1%), Guatemala (19%), El Salvador (16.2%), Mexico (15%), Nepal (4.9%).

Official biography

Attorney General Loretta E. Lynch appointed Arwen Ann Swink to begin hearing cases in February 2017. Judge Swink earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in 2002 from California State University San Marcos and a Juris Doctor in 2006 from the University of California Hastings College Of Law. Prior to this post, she served as a staff attorney in the motions unit of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, in San Francisco, beginning in 2010. From 2006 through 2010, she served as an associate attorney for the Law Office of Robert B. Jobe, in San Francisco. Judge Swink is a member of the State Bar of California.

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

In the record

  • Executive Office for Immigration Review · 2017-02-06

    Executive Office for Immigration Review Swears in 12 Immigration Judges

    Official DOJ press release announcing Arwen Ann Swink's investiture as an immigration judge at the San Francisco Immigration Court, appointed by Attorney General Loretta Lynch to begin hearing cases in February 2017, with prior work as a Ninth Circuit staff attorney.

Other judges at San Francisco

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.