Brigitte Laforest
Immigration Judge, New York/Federal Plaza Immigration Court. Appointed April 1997.
Asylum record, FY 2021-2026
TRAC source →- Decisions on the merits
- 618
- Asylum granted
- 331
- Other relief granted
- 12
- Denied
- 275
- Against own court
- -3.2 pts
| FY22 | FY23 | FY24 | FY25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 59% | 38% | 31% | 62% |
Docket
Respondents represented by counsel: 90% (nationally, 81% are represented).
Most common nationalities: Ecuador (33.3%), El Salvador (33.3%), India (16.7%), Pakistan (16.7%).
Official biography
Judge Laforest was appointed as an Immigration Judge in April 1997. She received an undergraduate degree in 1981 from Princeton University, and a Juris Doctorate from Georgetown University Law Center in 1987. From 1987 to 1993, Judge Laforest worked as a staff attorney at the Brooklyn Neighborhood Office, Immigration Unit, Legal Aid Society, in Brooklyn. During this time, from 1988 to 1992, she also served as a coordinator for the Citywide Immigrants' Rights Project in New York. Judge Laforest worked as a staff attorney, Civil Appeals and Law Reform Unit, Legal Aid Society, New York, from 1993 to 1995 and again from 1996 to 1997. From 1995 to 1996, she served as assistant director of student affairs at Fordham University School of Law. Judge Laforest is a member of the New York Bar.
In the record
No published reporting or appellate decisions naming this judge have been collected yet.
Other judges at New York
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.