Karen M. Donoso Stevens
Immigration Judge, Annandale Immigration Court. Appointed October 2016 by Loretta E. Lynch.
Asylum record, FY 2021-2026
TRAC source →- Decisions on the merits
- 136
- Asylum granted
- 29
- Other relief granted
- 7
- Denied
- 100
- Against own court
- -6.1 pts
| FY25 | FY26 |
|---|---|
| 79% | 69% |
Docket
Respondents represented by counsel: 83% (nationally, 81% are represented).
Most common nationalities: Bolivia (19.1%), El Salvador (17.6%), Honduras (14.7%), Venezuela (14.7%), Georgia (2.9%).
Official biography
Attorney General Loretta E. Lynch appointed Karen M. Donoso Stevens to begin hearing cases in October 2016. Judge Donoso Stevens earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1995 from the University of Illinois and a Juris Doctor in 1999 from the Michigan State University College of Law. From 2010 to October 2016, she served as a senior attorney for the Office of the Chief Counsel, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), Department of Homeland Security (DHS), in Arlington, Va. From 2007 through 2010, she served as an assistant chief counsel for the Office of the Chief Counsel, ICE, DHS, in Arlington, Va. From 2005 through 2006, she served as a staff attorney for the Children's Project at the National Immigrant Justice Center, in Chicago. From 2001 through 2003, she served as juvenile diversion program director for the California Bar Foundation, Orange County, Calif. In 2001, she served as family services coordinator for the Children's Bureau of Southern California, in Santa Ana, Calif. From 1999 through 2000, she served as an assistant state's attorney for the Illinois State's Attorney's Office, in Cook County, Chicago. Judge Donoso Stevens is a member of the Illinois State Bar.
In the record
Deportation Hearings Move at Breakneck Speed as Families Are Torn Apart
The Davis Vanguard, recounting reporting by The Atlantic, describes rushed hearings in Donoso Stevens's court in which she told a detained father to stop talking during his own case and asked whether he could afford a plane ticket home.
Executive Office for Immigration Review
This EOIR announcement lists Karen M. Donoso Stevens as an immigration judge at the Arlington Immigration Court, appointed by Attorney General Loretta E. Lynch to begin hearing cases in October 2016. The release includes a biography covering education and prior legal roles.
Other judges at Annandale
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.