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

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

Immigration judges

Jose Rivera

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

Asylum record, FY 2021-2026

TRAC source →
Judge Rivera81.0%
Miami court71.5%
All judges nationally62.9%
Decisions on the merits
962
Asylum granted
124
Other relief granted
59
Denied
779
Against own court
+9.5 pts
Denial rate by fiscal year
FY21FY22FY23FY24FY25FY26
92%75%82%73%85%85%

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

Docket

Respondents represented by counsel: 79% (nationally, 81% are represented).

Most common nationalities: Nicaragua (17.2%), Cuba (15.8%), Venezuela (14.4%), Honduras (13.1%), Guatemala (8.2%).

Official biography

Attorney General William P. Barr appointed Jose A. Rivera-Ortiz as an immigration judge in June 2020. Judge Rivera-Ortiz ear ned a Bachelor of Science in 1995 from Purdue University Fort Wayne and a Juris Doctor in 1999 from the Pontifical Catholic University of Puerto Rico School of Law. From 2017 to 2020, he served as an assistant chief counsel, Office of Chief Counsel (OCC), Office of the Principal Legal Advisor (OPLA), Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), Department of Homeland Security (DHS), in Miami, where he co-led the Homeland Security Investigations Embedded Attorneys Program. From 2007 to 2017, he serve das an assistant chief counsel, OCC, OPLA, ICE, DHS, in San Juan, Puerto Rico. From 2001 to2007 he served as an attorney advisor with the Federal Bureau of Prisons, Department of Justice,in Guaynabo, Puerto Rico. From 2000 to 2001, he served as an assistant to the deputy secretaryof the Puerto Rico Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. Judge Rivera-Ortiz is am ember of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico 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 Miami

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.