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

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

Immigration judges

Heather Libeu

Immigration Judge, Santa Ana Immigration Court. Appointed August 2023.

Asylum record, FY 2021-2026

TRAC source →
Judge Libeu87.6%
Santa Ana court76.5%
All judges nationally62.9%
Decisions on the merits
622
Asylum granted
71
Other relief granted
6
Denied
545
Against own court
+11.1 pts
Denial rate by fiscal year
FY24FY25FY26
74%85%94%

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

Docket

Respondents represented by counsel: 85% (nationally, 81% are represented).

Most common nationalities: Mexico (19.9%), Colombia (13.8%), Nicaragua (12.5%), Guatemala (9.6%), Peru (7.6%).

Official biography

Heather A. Libeu was appointed as an immigration judge to begin hearing cases in August 2023. Judge Libeu ear ned a Bachelor of Arts in 2004 from Chapman University and a Juris Doctor in 2007 from the University of Southern California Gould School of Law. From 2021 to 2023, she served an assistant chief counsel, Office of the Principal Legal Advisor (OPLA), U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), Department of Homeland Security (DHS), in Santa Ana, California. From 2010 to 2021, she served an assistant chief counsel, OPLA, in Los Angeles. From 2009 to 2010, she served as an associate legal advisor, and from 2007 to 2009, she served as Presidential management fellow, OPLA, in Washington, D.C. Judge Libeu is a member of the State Bar of California.

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 Santa Ana

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.