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

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

Immigration judges

Clarease Rankin Yates

Immigration Judge, Houston South Gessner Immigration Court. Appointed May 1990.

Asylum record, FY 2021-2026

TRAC source →
Judge Yates68.3%
Houston - Gessner court82.0%
All judges nationally62.9%
Decisions on the merits
202
Asylum granted
24
Other relief granted
40
Denied
138
Against own court
-13.7 pts
Denial rate by fiscal year
FY21FY22FY23FY24
32%80%76%76%

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

Docket

Respondents represented by counsel: 85% (nationally, 81% are represented).

Most common nationalities: El Salvador (32.2%), Honduras (28.2%), Guatemala (8.9%), Nicaragua (5.9%), Mexico (5%).

Official biography

Judge Yates was appointed as an Immigration Judge in May 1990. She received a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1973, and a Juris Doctorate in 1976, both from Temple University. Prior to becoming an Immigration Judge, she worked as an administrative law judge for the DC Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs from 1985 to 1990. From 1980 to 1985, Judge Yates served as an attorney advisor in the Office of General Counsel at the United States International Commission. She worked as an attorney with the law firm of Harper and Tatum in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, from 1976 to 1980. Judge Yates has been an adjunct professor teaching immigration law at the Thurgood Marshall School of Law at Texas Southern University since 1991. Judge Yates is a member of both the Pennsylvania and District of Columbia Bars.

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 Houston - Gessner

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.