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

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

Immigration judges

Luisa Santiago

Immigration Judge, Sterling Immigration Court. Appointed December 2021.

Asylum record, FY 2021-2026

TRAC source →
Judge Santiago78.1%
Sterling court71.6%
All judges nationally62.9%
Decisions on the merits
224
Asylum granted
41
Other relief granted
8
Denied
175
Against own court
+6.5 pts
Denial rate by fiscal year
FY24FY25
69%82%

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

Docket

Respondents represented by counsel: 92% (nationally, 81% are represented).

Most common nationalities: Honduras (24.1%), El Salvador (17.4%), Nicaragua (9.8%), Guatemala (8.9%), Peru (5.4%).

Official biography

Luisa Santiago was appointed as a Unit Chief Immigration Judge to begin supervisory immigration court duties and hearing cases in December 2021. Judge Santiago ear ned a Bachelor of Science in 1991 from Cornell University, a Juris Doctorate in 2001 from American University Washington College of Law, a Master of Laws in 2005 from the Judge Advocate General's Legal Center and School, and a Master of Business Administration in 2021 from University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Kenan-Flagler Business School. In December 2020, she retired from the U.S. Army after serving 30 years of active and reserve military service. From 2011 to 2020, she served as a U.S. Army Judge Advocate Supervisor and Senior Legal Advisor with a specialization in Administrative/Civil and Criminal Law, in the following locations: Bagram, Afghanistan; Fort Leavenworth, Kansas; U.S. Embassy Baghdad, Iraq; and Fort Bragg, North Carolina. From 2008 to 2011, she served as an Assistant Chief Counsel, Office of Chief Counsel, Office of the Principal Legal Advisor, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Department of Homeland Security, in Miami. From 1991 to 2007, she served in the U.S. Army in a variety of leadership and supervisory positions, which included Criminal Prosecutor and Senior Operational Legal Advisor, in the following locations: Heidelberg, Germany; Arlington, Virginia; Schofield Barracks, Hawaii; Fort Meade, Maryland; and Afghanistan. Judge Santiago is a member of the Minnesota State Bar and North Carolina 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 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.