Carla Espinoza
Immigration Judge, Chicago Immigration Court. Appointed August 2023.
Asylum record, FY 2021-2026
TRAC source →- Decisions on the merits
- 250
- Asylum granted
- 147
- Other relief granted
- 41
- Denied
- 62
- Against own court
- -24.2 pts
| FY24 | FY25 |
|---|---|
| 21% | 38% |
Docket
Respondents represented by counsel: 80% (nationally, 81% are represented).
Most common nationalities: Russia (15.2%), Venezuela (13.6%), Nicaragua (10.4%), Colombia (9.2%), India (4.4%).
Official biography
Carla I. Espinoza was appointed as an immigration judge to begin hearing cases in August 2023. Judge Espinoza earned a Bachelor of Science in 2009 from the University of Texas at El Paso, and a Juris Doctor and a Certificate in International and Comparative Law in 2012 from DePaul University College of Law. From 2020 to 2023, she was the managing partner, and from 2013 to 2020, she was supervising and managing attorney, for Chicago Immigration Advocates Law Offices. From 2012 to 2013, she served as a supervising attorney with Solis Law Firm PC in Chicago. Judge Espinoza is a member of the Illinois State Bar.
In the record
Former Chicago Immigration Judges Discuss Trump Administration Firings
Reports that Carla Espinoza was fired without notice as a Chicago immigration court judge while on the bench delivering an oral decision, despite adjudicating over 1,000 cases in her first fiscal year and receiving positive performance reviews from her chief judge and government attorneys.
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.