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

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

Immigration judges

Karen Marquez-Casillas

Immigration Judge, Sterling Immigration Court. Appointed May 2024.

Asylum record, FY 2021-2026

TRAC source →
Judge Marquez-Casillas84.0%
Sterling court71.6%
All judges nationally62.9%
Decisions on the merits
488
Asylum granted
74
Other relief granted
4
Denied
410
Against own court
+12.4 pts
Denial rate by fiscal year
FY25FY26
82%87%

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

Docket

Respondents represented by counsel: 88% (nationally, 81% are represented).

Most common nationalities: Honduras (21.7%), El Salvador (20.1%), Guatemala (10.2%), Peru (9.6%), Venezuela (5.7%).

Official biography

Karen de Lourdes Márquez-Casillas was appointed as an immigration judge to begin hearing cases in May 2024. Judge Márquez-Casillas ear ned a Bachelor of Arts in Finance in 1998 from the University of Puerto Rico and a Juris Doctor in 2002 from the University of Puerto Rico School of Law. From 2014 to 2024, she served as an assistant chief counsel with the Office of the Principal Legal Advisor, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Department of Homeland Security, in various locations, including El Paso, Texas; Miami, Florida; and Washington D.C. From 2012 to 2014, she practiced immigration law in El Paso at the Law Office of Felipe Millan. From 2010 to 2011, she served as the mana ging attorney for Márquez & Ferrari Law Offices in San Juan, Puerto Rico. From 2007 to 2009, she directed the legal division of ALO Corporation, represent ing financial institutions in federal and state civil cases and bankruptcy proceedings. From 2003 to 2006, she practiced civil litigation with the Law Offices of Ramos-Diaz, Acevedo & Gonzalez in San Juan, Puerto Rico. In 2003, she worked as in-house counsel for the legal division of Universal Group, Inc. in Guaynabo, Puerto Rico. Judge Márquez-Casillas is a member of the State Bar of Texas.

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 Sterling

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.