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

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

Immigration judges

Brenda M. O'Malley

Immigration Judge, Boston Immigration Court. Appointed April 2009.

Asylum record, FY 2021-2026

TRAC source →
Judge O'Malley37.9%
Boston court52.6%
All judges nationally62.9%
Decisions on the merits
1,050
Asylum granted
619
Other relief granted
33
Denied
398
Against own court
-14.7 pts
Denial rate by fiscal year
FY21FY22FY23FY24FY25FY26
30%12%29%19%51%87%

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

Docket

Respondents represented by counsel: 92% (nationally, 81% are represented).

Most common nationalities: El Salvador (24.1%), Guatemala (21.9%), Brazil (12%), Honduras (10.1%), Ecuador (4.9%).

Official biography

Judge O'Malley was appointed as an immigration judge in April 2009. She received a bachelor of arts degree in 1992 from Boston University and a juris doctorate in 1995 from Suffolk University Law School. From April 2007 to April 2009, Judge O'Malley served as an associate regional counsel with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, Department of Homeland Security (DHS), in Boston. From June 2004 to June 2007, she served as counsel to the Chief Immigration Judge in Falls Church, Va. From May 1998 to June 2004, Judge O'Malley worked at the Office of Immigration Litigation, Civil Division, Washington, DC, as a trial attorney. From October 1996 to May 1998, she worked as an associate general counsel for the Office of the General Counsel, EOIR, in Falls Church, Va. From September 1995 to September 1996, Judge O'Malley worked as a judicial law clerk at the Boston Immigration Court, entering on duty through the Attorney General's Honors Program. She is a member of the Massachusetts 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 Boston

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.