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

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

Immigration judges

Ila C. Deiss

Immigration Judge, San Francisco Immigration Court. Appointed February 2017 by Loretta E. Lynch.

LenientGrants far more often than the national average-58.7 points

Asylum record, FY 2021-2026

TRAC source →
Judge Deiss4.2%
San Francisco court28.4%
All judges nationally62.9%
Decisions on the merits
1,691
Asylum granted
1,554
Other relief granted
66
Denied
71
Against own court
-24.2 pts
Denial rate by fiscal year
FY21FY22FY23FY24FY25
6%4%3%3%8%

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

Docket

Respondents represented by counsel: 97% (nationally, 81% are represented).

Most common nationalities: India (27%), Guatemala (16.9%), El Salvador (12.2%), Mexico (8.6%), Honduras (4.8%).

Official biography

Attorney General Loretta E. Lynch appointed Ila C. Deiss to begin hearing cases in February 2017. Judge Deiss ear ned Bachelor of Arts deg rees in 1991 from the University of California at Davis, a Master of Public Administration in 1996 from the New York University Robert F. Wagner Graduate School for Public Service, and a Juris Doctor in 1999 from the City University of New York School of Law. From 2005 to January 2017, she served as an assistant U.S. attorney for the U.S. Attorney's Office, Northern District of California, Department of Justice (DOJ), in San Francisco. From 2003 through 2005, she served as a staff attorney for the U. S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. From 2001 through 2002, she served as a senior court counsel for the Supreme Court of the Republic of Palau. From April 2001 to August 2001, she served as a judicial law clerk for the Honorable Richard M. Berman, U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York. From 1999 through 2001, she served as a judicial law clerk for the Staff Attorney's Office, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. Judge Deiss is a member of the Connecticut and New York state bars.

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 San Francisco

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.