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

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

Immigration judges

LaMonte S. Freerks

Immigration Judge, Phoenix Immigration Court. Appointed September 1994.

Asylum record, FY 2021-2026

TRAC source →
Judge Freerks65.1%
Phoenix court85.0%
All judges nationally62.9%
Decisions on the merits
232
Asylum granted
71
Other relief granted
10
Denied
151
Against own court
-19.9 pts
Denial rate by fiscal year
FY22FY23FY24
65%79%58%

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

Docket

Respondents represented by counsel: 86% (nationally, 81% are represented).

Most common nationalities: Guatemala (24.1%), Mexico (17.7%), Honduras (10.8%), Venezuela (6.5%), Nicaragua (6%).

Official biography

Judge Freerks was appointed as an Immigration Judge in September 1994. Judge Freerks received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Northwestern College in 1977, and a Juris Doctorate from the University of Iowa College of Law in 1980. Prior to becoming an Immigration Judge, he worked as a staff attorney from 1991 to 1994 for the Florence Immigrant and Refugee Rights Project. From 1989 to 1991, Judge Freerks worked as a staff attorney for Border Association for Refugees from Central America in Edinburg, Texas. Judge Freerks worked as a staff attorney in 1991 for the Methodist Legal Ministries in Brownsville, Texas. He is a member of the Texas 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 Phoenix

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.