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

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

Immigration judges

Howard C. Hom

Immigration Judge, Santa Ana Immigration Court. Appointed August 2018 by Jeff Sessions.

Asylum record, FY 2021-2026

TRAC source →
Judge Hom79.6%
Santa Ana court76.5%
All judges nationally62.9%
Decisions on the merits
903
Asylum granted
155
Other relief granted
29
Denied
719
Against own court
+3.1 pts
Denial rate by fiscal year
FY22FY23FY24FY25FY26
34%25%15%87%94%

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

Docket

Respondents represented by counsel: 90% (nationally, 81% are represented).

Most common nationalities: Mexico (28.8%), Guatemala (10.1%), Nicaragua (9.7%), Colombia (9.4%), China (6.9%).

Official biography

Attorney General Jeff Sessions appointed Howard C. Hom to begin hearing cases in August 2018. Judge Hom received a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1973 from the University of California,Los Angeles, and a Juris Doctor in 1976from Loyola Law School. In 2018, he served as an administrative law judge (ALJ) for the California Unemployment Insurance Appeals Board. From 2016 to 2018, he was a self-employed attorney specializing in immigration and nationality law. From 2009 to 2016, he was ALJ for the State of California. From 1981 to 2009, he was anat torney in private practice, in Los Angeles. From 1995 to 2008, he was an adjunct professor in immigration law at the Whittier Law School, Los Angeles. From 1976 to 1981, he was a genera land trial attorney with the former Immigration and Naturalization Service, Department of Justicein Los Angeles. Judge Hom 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.