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

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

Immigration judges

Kalenna Lee

Immigration Judge, New York/Federal Plaza Immigration Court. Appointed May 2023.

Asylum record, FY 2021-2026

TRAC source →
Judge Lee68.5%
New York court47.7%
All judges nationally62.9%
Decisions on the merits
635
Asylum granted
181
Other relief granted
19
Denied
435
Against own court
+20.8 pts
Denial rate by fiscal year
FY23FY24FY25FY26
51%42%84%79%

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

Docket

Respondents represented by counsel: 69% (nationally, 81% are represented).

Most common nationalities: Colombia (33.3%), Kazakhstan (33.3%), Peru (33.3%).

Official biography

Kalenna Lee was appointed as an immigration judge to begin hearing cases in May 2023. Judge Lee ear ned a Bachelor of Arts in 2005 from New York University and a Juris Doctor in 2010 from Brooklyn Law School. From 2015 to 2023, she served as an assistant chief counsel, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Department of Homeland Security (DHS), in New York. From 2013 to 2015, she served as an asylum officer, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), DHS. From 2010 to 2013, she was in private practice at the law firm of Kuzmin and Associates PC in New York represent ing noncitizens before EOIR and USCIS. Judge Lee is a member of the New York 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 New York

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.