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

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

Immigration judges

Catherine E. Halliday-Roberts

Immigration Judge, San Diego Immigration Court. Appointed July 2017 by Jeff Sessions.

Asylum record, FY 2021-2026

TRAC source →
Judge Halliday-Roberts50.5%
San Diego court54.6%
All judges nationally62.9%
Decisions on the merits
200
Asylum granted
64
Other relief granted
35
Denied
101
Against own court
-4.1 pts
Denial rate by fiscal year
FY22FY23FY25FY26
18%28%69%97%

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

Docket

Respondents represented by counsel: 87% (nationally, 81% are represented).

Most common nationalities: Guatemala (14.5%), Mexico (14%), Russia (11%), Colombia (8.5%), Nicaragua (6.5%).

Official biography

Attorney General Jeff Sessions appointed Catherine E. Halliday-Roberts to begin hearing cases in July 2017. Judge Halliday-Roberts ear ned a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1998 from the University of Dayton and a Juris Doctor in 2002 from the Valparaiso University School of Law. From 2008 to 2017, she served as a deputy chief counsel for the Office of Chief Counsel, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), Department of Homeland Security (DHS), in San Diego, Calif. From 2003 to 2008, she served as an assistant chief counsel for the Office of Chief Counsel, ICE, DHS, in Los Angeles and Lancaster, Calif. From 2002 to 2003, she served as an assistant district counsel for the Immigration and Naturalization Service, Department of Justice, entering on duty through the Attorney General's Honors Program. Since 2002, she has been an associate professor at Santa Monica College. Judge Halliday-Roberts is a member of the California 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 San Diego

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.