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

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

Immigration judges

Denise Hunter

Immigration Judge, Sacramento Immigration Court. Appointed October 2022.

Asylum record, FY 2021-2026

TRAC source →
Judge Hunter17.9%
Sacramento court27.0%
All judges nationally62.9%
Decisions on the merits
548
Asylum granted
427
Other relief granted
23
Denied
98
Against own court
-9.1 pts
Denial rate by fiscal year
FY23FY24FY25FY26
15%9%24%30%

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

Docket

Respondents represented by counsel: 80% (nationally, 81% are represented).

Most common nationalities: Russia (40.3%), India (19.9%), Afghanistan (9.9%), Mexico (7.5%), Guatemala (4.7%).

Official biography

Denise M. Hunter was appointed as an Immigration Judge to begin hearing cases in October 2022. Judge Hunter ear ned a Bachelor of Arts in 2006 from Wesley – Delaware State University (formerly Wesley College) and a Juris Doctor in 2011 from The George Washington University Law School. From 2021 to 2022, she was the LGBTQ+ Program Legal Director at California Rural Legal Assistance. Inc., in Modesto, California, and served on the Board of Asylum Works in Washington, D.C. From 2017 to 2021, she was senior staff attorney – immigration at Whitman-Walker Health (WWH) in Washington, D.C. From 2015 to 2017, she was staff attorney – immigration at WWH. From 2014 to 2015, she was an immigration staff attorney at Ayuda in Washington, D.C. From 2012 to 2014 she was staff attorney at Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Arlington, Hogar Immigrant Services, in Falls Church, Virginia. Judge Hunter is a member of the District of Columbia 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 Sacramento

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.