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

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

Immigration judges

Francis Mwangi

Immigration Judge, LaSalle Immigration Court. Appointed August 2022.

Asylum record, FY 2021-2026

TRAC source →
Judge Mwangi76.1%
Jena court81.6%
All judges nationally62.9%
Decisions on the merits
406
Asylum granted
77
Other relief granted
20
Denied
309
Against own court
-5.5 pts
Denial rate by fiscal year
FY23FY24FY25FY26
73%60%82%97%

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

Docket

Respondents represented by counsel: 70% (nationally, 81% are represented).

Most common nationalities: Russia (20.9%), Georgia (12.1%), Uzbekistan (7.4%), Honduras (4.4%).

Official biography

Francis M. Mwangi was appointed as an Immigration Judge to begin hearing cases in August 2022. Judge Mwangi ear ned a Bachelor of Arts in 1991 from Kenyatta University in Nairobi, Kenya, a Juris Doctor in 1997 from the West Virginia University College of Law, and a Master of Laws in 2011 from the University of Houston Law Center. From 2019 to 2022, he was an attorney supervisor, and from 2016 to 2019, a staff attorney, in the Legal Services Section at State Counsel for Offenders, Texas Board of Criminal Justice. From 2003 to 2016, he was in private immigration practice in Maryland and Texas. From 1997 to 2003, he was an associate with the immigration law firm of Blaine L. Gilbert & Associates in Baltimore. Judge Mwangi is a member of the Maryland State Bar, State Bar of Texas, and West Virginia State 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 Jena

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.