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

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

Immigration judges

Jonathan W. Hitesman

Immigration Judge, Sacramento Immigration Court. Appointed June 2020 by William P. Barr.

Asylum record, FY 2021-2026

TRAC source →
Judge Hitesman67.4%
Sacramento court27.0%
All judges nationally62.9%
Decisions on the merits
230
Asylum granted
70
Other relief granted
5
Denied
155
Against own court
+40.4 pts
Denial rate by fiscal year
FY21FY26
73%81%

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

Docket

Respondents represented by counsel: 65% (nationally, 81% are represented).

Most common nationalities: Mexico (36.5%), Russia (14.3%), El Salvador (8.7%), Honduras (7%), Nicaragua (6.5%).

Official biography

Attorney General William P. Barr appointed Jonathan W. Hitesman as an assistant chief immigration judge in June 2020. Judge Hitesman ear ned a Bachelor of Science in 1990 from Norwich University, a Juris Doctor in 1997 from the University of Hawaii, and a Master of Lawsin 2004 from the Georgetown University Law Center. From 1990 to 2020, he served on active duty with the U.S. Marine Corps, first as an infantry officer and later as a judge advocate. In2020, he retired as a senior appellate military judge with the Navy-Marine Corps Court of Criminal Appeals. Judge Hitesman is a member of the Hawaii State Bar and the Minnesota 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 Sacramento

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.