Donald R. Eller, Jr.
Immigration Judge, Chicago Immigration Court. Appointed December 2018 by Matthew Whitaker.
Asylum record, FY 2021-2026
TRAC source →- Decisions on the merits
- 227
- Asylum granted
- 14
- Other relief granted
- 5
- Denied
- 208
- Against own court
- +42.6 pts
| FY26 |
|---|
| 91% |
Docket
Respondents represented by counsel: 85% (nationally, 81% are represented).
Most common nationalities: Venezuela (21.1%), Colombia (11%), Nicaragua (9.3%), Ecuador (8.4%), Mexico (7.5%).
Official biography
Then-Acting Attorney General Matthew Whitaker appointed Don Eller to begin hearing cases in December 2018. Judge Eller earned a Bachelor of Business Administration in 1988 from the University of Texas at San Antonio and a Juris Doctor in 1995 from the University of Texas School of Law. He retired as a colonel from the U.S. Air Force in 2018. From 1996 to 2018,Judge Eller served as a judge advocate in the U.S. Air Force at the following locations:Barksdale AFB, Louisiana; Randolph AFB, Texas; RAF Molesworth, United Kingdom; Travis AFB, California; Pope AFB, North Carolina; Bolling AFB, Washington D.C.; and Ramstein AB,Germany. In those assignments, he performed various duties including trial judge, senior prosecutor, senior defense attorney, and staff judge advocate. From 1989 to 1993, Judge Ellerserved on active duty in the U.S. Air Force as a commissioned officer responsible for providing security for personnel and resources at Ellsworth AFB, South Dakota. Judge Eller is a member ofthe State Bar of Texas.
In the record
EOIR Notice: 31 New Immigration Judges
EOIR's notice records that then-Acting Attorney General Matthew Whitaker appointed Donald R. Eller Jr. to begin hearing cases in December 2018, listing him among the judges invested at a March 2019 ceremony at the Justice Department.
Bogdan Romance v. Attorney General United States
A Third Circuit opinion resolving consolidated petitions for review of Board of Immigration Appeals orders names Donald R. Eller, Jr. as the immigration judge in the underlying removal proceedings against Bogdan Romance.
Other judges at Chicago
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.