Ellen Karesh
Immigration Judge, Charlotte Immigration Court. Appointed October 2021.
Asylum record, FY 2021-2026
TRAC source →- Decisions on the merits
- 350
- Asylum granted
- 34
- Other relief granted
- 4
- Denied
- 312
- Against own court
- +2.4 pts
| FY25 | FY26 |
|---|---|
| 91% | 96% |
Docket
Respondents represented by counsel: 84% (nationally, 81% are represented).
Most common nationalities: Honduras (22%), Mexico (12%), Brazil (11.7%), Guatemala (11.7%), Colombia (9.4%).
Official biography
Ellen L. Karesh was appointed as a Unit Chief Immigration Judge to begin supervisory immigration court duties and hearing cases in October 2021. Judge Karesh earned a Bachelor of Science in 1990 from the University of South Carolina and a Juris Doctor in 1993 from the University of South Carolina School of Law. From 1995 to 2021, she served as a Berkeley County Summary Court Judge, in South Carolina. From 1994 to 2004, she worked in private practice, in Goose Creek, South Carolina. Judge Karesh is a member of the South Carolina Bar.
In the record
Three judges with no immigration experience appointed to Charlotte immigration court
Enlace Latino NC reports on new appointments to the Charlotte immigration court and lists Ellen Karesh among the immigration judges then sitting there, noting the limited immigration experience of several members of the bench.
Adalberto Pino-Porras v. Attorney General United States of America
A non-precedential Third Circuit opinion on a petition for review names Ellen Karesh as the immigration judge whose order was challenged in the removal case of petitioner Adalberto Pino-Porras.
He Faced Removal Unrepresented. A Court Found It Wrong
Law360 reports that Immigration Judge Ellen Karesh proceeded with a reasonable fear hearing without the respondent's lawyer present, saying it was within her discretion to do so, a decision a reviewing court later found improper.
Judges ruled immigrants 'unlawfully detained' in Michigan. But many still can't get out
Michigan Public describes a bond hearing before Immigration Judge Ellen Karesh for Fernandez-Escalante, a detained man in Michigan whose release his family had hoped for after a federal court found his detention unlawful.
Other judges at Charlotte
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.