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

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

Immigration judges

Ian Robert Simons

Immigration Judge, Detroit Immigration Court. Appointed September 2016 by Loretta E. Lynch.

Asylum record, FY 2021-2026

TRAC source →
Judge Simons58.8%
Detroit court67.3%
All judges nationally62.9%
Decisions on the merits
975
Asylum granted
368
Other relief granted
34
Denied
573
Against own court
-8.5 pts
Denial rate by fiscal year
FY21FY22FY23FY24FY25FY26
60%56%52%23%64%96%

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: Honduras (12.4%), Mexico (12.2%), Venezuela (8.2%), Guatemala (8%), Iraq (7.5%).

Official biography

Attorney General Loretta E. Lynch appointed Ian Robert Simons to begin hearing cases in September 2016. Judge Simons ear ned a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1998 from Michigan State University and a Juris Doctor in 2001 from the Michigan State University College of Law. From 2009 to September 2016, he served as an assistant chief counsel for the Office of the Chief Counsel, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Department of Homeland Security, in Detroit. From 2011 through 2013, he served as a special assistant U.S. attorney for the U.S. Attorney's Office, District of Arizona, Department of Justice, in Phoenix. From 2001 through 2009, he served as an assistant prosecutor for the Oakland County Prosecutor's Office, in Pontiac, Mich. Judge Simons is a member of the State Bar of Michigan.

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 Detroit

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.