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

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

Immigration judges

John M. Furlong, Jr.

Immigration Judge, Boston Immigration Court. Appointed May 2019 by William P. Barr.

Asylum record, FY 2021-2026

TRAC source →
Judge Jr.65.9%
Boston court52.6%
All judges nationally62.9%
Decisions on the merits
810
Asylum granted
243
Other relief granted
33
Denied
534
Against own court
+13.3 pts
Denial rate by fiscal year
FY21FY22FY23FY24FY25FY26
94%48%62%50%69%77%

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

Docket

Respondents represented by counsel: 94% (nationally, 81% are represented).

Most common nationalities: Brazil (39%), El Salvador (12.8%), Guatemala (11.4%), Honduras (7%), Ecuador (5.1%).

Official biography

Attorney General William Barr appointed John M. Furlong Jr. to begin hearing cases in May 2019. Judge Furlong ear ned a Bachelor of Arts in 1988 from Boston College and a Juris Doctorin 1994 from Suffolk University. From 2013 to 2019, he served as the deputy district director for U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, Department of Homeland Security (DHS), in Boston,Massachusetts. From 2006 to 2013, he served as a deputy chief counsel for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), DHS, in the same office. From 1996 to 2006, he served as an assistant chief counsel for ICE, DHS, in Boston, Massachusetts. Judge Furlong is a member ofthe Massachusetts 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 Boston

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.