Cynthia A. Lafuente-Gaona
Immigration Judge, San Antonio Immigration Court. Appointed November 2017 by Jeff Sessions.
Asylum record, FY 2021-2026
TRAC source →- Decisions on the merits
- 443
- Asylum granted
- 135
- Other relief granted
- 134
- Denied
- 174
- Against own court
- -1.9 pts
| FY22 | FY23 | FY24 | FY25 | FY26 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9% | 18% | 20% | 36% | 69% |
Docket
Respondents represented by counsel: 70% (nationally, 81% are represented).
Most common nationalities: Venezuela (18.7%), Honduras (16.9%), Mexico (11.3%), Cuba (7.2%), Guatemala (7%).
Official biography
Attorney General Jeff Sessions appointed Cynthia A. Lafuente-Gaona to begin hearingcases in November 2017. Judge Lafuente-Gaona ear ned a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1991 from the University of Texas at Austin and a Juris Doctor in 1998 from the Texas Wesleyan University School of Law. From 2005 to 2017, she worked for the U.S. House of Representatives in the office of Congressman Henry Cuellar in San Antonio, serving as deputy chief of staff and counsel from 2005 to 2010, and chief of staff and counsel from 2011 to 2017. From 2005 to 2014, she was also a sole practitioner at the Law Offices of Robert Gaona & Associates, in San Antonio. From1998 to 2004, she served as assistant attorney general for the State of Texas Attorney General, in San Antonio. Judge Lafuente-Gaona is a member of the Texas State Bar.
In the record
No published reporting or appellate decisions naming this judge have been collected yet.
Other judges at San Antonio
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.