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

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

Immigration judges

Deborah E. Klahr

Immigration Judge, New York/Federal Plaza Immigration Court. Appointed October 2019 by William P. Barr.

Asylum record, FY 2021-2026

TRAC source →
Judge Klahr51.8%
New York court47.7%
All judges nationally62.9%
Decisions on the merits
1,331
Asylum granted
567
Other relief granted
74
Denied
690
Against own court
+4.1 pts
Denial rate by fiscal year
FY21FY22FY23FY24FY25FY26
8%10%11%14%36%93%

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

Docket

Respondents represented by counsel: 76% (nationally, 81% are represented).

Most common nationalities: China (30.7%), Ecuador (13%), India (9.8%), Bangladesh (5.7%), Nepal (3.5%).

Official biography

Attorney General William Barr appointed Deborah E. Klahr to begin hearing cases in October 2019. Judge Klahr ear ned a Bachelor of Arts in 1989 from Stern College, Yeshiva Universityand a Juris Doctor in 1992 from Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law. From 2018 to 2019, sheserved first as a supervisory immigration officer and then as a section chief with the New York City Field Office, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), Department of Homeland Security (DHS), in New York. From 2017 to 2018, she served as a senior immigration servicesofficer with the Newark Field Office, USCIS, DHS, in Newark, New Jersey. From 2013 to 2017,she served first as an asylum officer and then as a supervisory asylum officer with the Newark Asylum Office, USCIS, DHS, in Lyndhurst, New Jersey. From 2009 to 2013, she was immigration counsel with Lindabury, McCormick, Estabrook & Cooper P.C., in Westfield,New Jersey. From 2004 to 2013, she was an immigration attorney in private practice. From 2000to 2004, she was a senior immigration associate with Merrill R. Cohen & Associates P.C., in New York. From 1997 to 1999, she was a staff attorney for the Bar Association for the City of New York, in New York. From 1996 to 1997, she was a litigation associate with Spector &Ehrenworth P.C., in Florham Park, New Jersey. From 1992 to 1996, she was a staff attorney for JASA/Legal Services for the Elderly, in New York. Judge Klahr is a member of the New Jersey State Bar and New York 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 New York

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.