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

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

Immigration judges

Brendan C. Curran

Immigration Judge, Chicago Immigration Court. Appointed October 2020 by William P. Barr.

Asylum record, FY 2021-2026

TRAC source →
Judge Curran60.7%
Chicago court49.0%
All judges nationally62.9%
Decisions on the merits
642
Asylum granted
171
Other relief granted
81
Denied
390
Against own court
+11.7 pts
Denial rate by fiscal year
FY21FY22FY23FY24FY25FY26
58%46%47%49%51%77%

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

Docket

Respondents represented by counsel: 77% (nationally, 81% are represented).

Most common nationalities: Venezuela (11.2%), Mexico (10.7%), Russia (7.2%), Guatemala (7%), Colombia (6.9%).

Official biography

Attorney General William P. Barr appointed Brendan Curran as an Immigration Judge in October 2020. Judge Curran ear ned a Bachelor of Arts in 1990 from Marquette University and a Juris Doctor in 1994 from DePaul University College of Law. From 2007 to 2020, he served asan assistant chief counsel, Office of Chief Counsel, Office of the Principal Legal Advisor,Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Department of Homeland Security, in Chicago. From1999 to 2007, he served as an assistant state attorney for the Cook County State's Attorney's Office, in Chicago. From 1994 to 1999, he served as an officer in the Judge Advocate General's(JAG) Corps of the U.S. Navy. He was stationed at Naval Training Center Great Lakes, in Illinois, and at sea aboard USS John C. Stennis (CVN 74). He remains a JAG in the reserve component of the U.S. Navy, having mobilized and deployed overseas in support of Operation Noble Eagle in 2013. Judge Curran is a member of the Illinois 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 Chicago

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.