New York · est. 2013Thursday, September 24, 2026
Inside Immigration

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

Immigration judges

David C. Koelsch

Immigration Judge, Hyattsville Immigration Court. Appointed August 2018 by Jeff Sessions.

LenientGrants far more often than the national average-42.0 points

Asylum record, FY 2021-2026

TRAC source →
Judge Koelsch20.9%
Hyattsville court57.6%
All judges nationally62.9%
Decisions on the merits
640
Asylum granted
496
Other relief granted
10
Denied
134
Against own court
-36.7 pts
Denial rate by fiscal year
FY22FY23FY24
10%14%34%

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

Docket

Respondents represented by counsel: 93% (nationally, 81% are represented).

Most common nationalities: El Salvador (34.1%), Honduras (15.6%), Cameroon (13.6%), Guatemala (8.4%), Nigeria (6.6%).

Official biography

Attorney General Jeff Sessions appointed David C. Koelsch to begin hearing cases in August 2018. Judge Koelsch earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1988 from Michigan State Universityand a Juris Doctor in 1994from Catholic University. From 2017 to 2018, he was a supervisory asylum officer with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), Department of Homeland Security (DHS), in Arlington, Va. From 2015 to 2017, he was an appeals officer with the Administrative Appeals Office, USCIS, DHS. From 2002 to 2015, he was a professor and director of the Immigration Law Clinic at the University of Detroit Mercy School of Law. From2000 to 2005, he was legal director of Freedom House. From 1998 to 2000, he was associate attorney with Dykema PLLC. From 1996 to 1998, he was associate attorney with Hopkins &Sutter. From 1995 to 1996, he was a law clerk for the Alaska Superior Court. He is a member ofthe Michigan State Bar.

As published by the Executive Office for Immigration Review at appointment, via TRAC.

In the record

  • Executive Office for Immigration Review

    EOIR Notice: New Immigration Judges

    EOIR's notice records that Attorney General Jeff Sessions appointed David C. Koelsch to begin hearing cases in August 2018 at the Baltimore Immigration Court, and summarises his academic and professional background before the appointment.

  • Michigan Public · 2026-04-28

    Retired immigration judge says immigration courts are 'beyond saving'

    Michigan Public interviews former Immigration Judge David Koelsch, who argues the immigration court system is beyond saving and that trained asylum officers rather than judges should decide who may remain in the United States.

  • The Baltimore Banner

    Ex-Maryland judge tear-gassed by Border Patrol in Minnesota

    The Banner profiles retired immigration judge David Koelsch, formerly of the Hyattsville Immigration Court, describing his time on the bench deciding deportation cases and his account of being tear-gassed by Border Patrol at a protest in Minnesota.

Other judges at Hyattsville

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.