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

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

Immigration judges

Donald W. Thompson

Immigration Judge, New York/Federal Plaza Immigration Court. Appointed April 2017 by Jeff Sessions.

LenientGrants far more often than the national average-24.8 points

Asylum record, FY 2021-2026

TRAC source →
Judge Thompson38.1%
New York court47.7%
All judges nationally62.9%
Decisions on the merits
1,345
Asylum granted
771
Other relief granted
62
Denied
512
Against own court
-9.6 pts
Denial rate by fiscal year
FY21FY22FY23FY24FY25FY26
24%9%11%10%54%87%

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

Docket

Respondents represented by counsel: 89% (nationally, 81% are represented).

Most common nationalities: China (29.6%), India (19.1%), Bangladesh (6.5%), Ecuador (4.6%), Nepal (4.6%).

Official biography

Attorney General Jeff Sessions appointed Donald W. Thompson to begin hearing cases in April 2017. Judge Thompson earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in 2003 from the College of New Jersey and a Juris Doctor in 2006 from the Seton Hall University School of Law. From September 2007 to April 2017, he served as an assistant chief counsel for the Office of Chief Counsel, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Department of Homeland Security, in San Francisco and New York, N.Y. From 2006 to 2007, he clerked for the Honorable Estela De La Cruz of the New Jersey Superior Court. Judge Thompson is a member of the New York and New Jersey State Bars.

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

In the record

  • Executive Office for Immigration Review · 2017-05-08

    EOIR Swears in Seven Immigration Judges

    EOIR announced that Attorney General Jeff Sessions appointed Donald W. Thompson as an immigration judge for the New York City Immigration Court, invested at a May 2017 ceremony at agency headquarters in Falls Church, Virginia.

  • The American Prospect · 2025-07-22

    There's No Safe Place for Legal Immigrants in Trump's America

    The American Prospect's report from a New York immigration court describes proceedings before immigration judge Donald W. Thompson at a time when court-watchers observed a noticeable drop-off in respondents appearing for their hearings.

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.