Elizabeth Crites
Immigration Judge, Chicago Immigration Court. Appointed April 2021.
Asylum record, FY 2021-2026
TRAC source →- Decisions on the merits
- 690
- Asylum granted
- 354
- Other relief granted
- 57
- Denied
- 279
- Against own court
- -8.6 pts
| FY22 | FY23 | FY24 | FY25 | FY26 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 24% | 17% | 31% | 43% | 77% |
Docket
Respondents represented by counsel: 91% (nationally, 81% are represented).
Most common nationalities: Venezuela (15.5%), Nicaragua (14.8%), Honduras (8.7%), Colombia (7.2%), Russia (6.2%).
Official biography
Elizabeth Crites was appointed as an Immigration Judge to begin hearing cases in April 2021.Judge Crites earned a Bachelor of Arts in 2005 from Ball State University and a Juris Doctor in2009 from the University of Illinois Chicago John Marshall Law School. From 2016 to 2021, sheserved as an Assistant Chief Counsel, Office of the Principal Legal Advisor, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Department of Homeland Security, in Chicago. From 2009 to 2016, shewas an Associate Attorney with Broyles, Kight & Ricafort PC, in Chicago. Judge Crites is a member of the Illinois State Bar.
In the record
EOIR Announces 17 New Immigration Judges
EOIR's notice, hosted by AILA, records that Attorney General Merrick Garland appointed Elizabeth Crites among seventeen new immigration judges, with biographical detail on her education and prior legal career.
2 more Chicago immigration judges fired as court becomes epicenter of deportation orders
Reporting carried by The Spokesman-Review says Immigration Judges Elizabeth Crites and Eva Saltzman were fired from the Chicago Immigration Court; Crites confirmed her dismissal by phone, and roughly a fifth of her June cases ended in dismissal or termination.
Chicago Nonprofits Serving Unaccompanied Minors Face Funding Cuts
Borderless Magazine describes two young sisters appearing virtually from a shelter before Chicago immigration judge Elizabeth Crites, represented by the National Immigrant Justice Center, in a case determining whether they could remain in the United States.
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.