Matthew O'Brien
Immigration Judge, Annandale Immigration Court. Appointed June 2020 by William P. Barr.
Asylum record, FY 2021-2026
TRAC source →- Decisions on the merits
- 285
- Asylum granted
- 30
- Other relief granted
- 14
- Denied
- 241
- Against own court
- +38.3 pts
| FY21 | FY22 |
|---|---|
| 92% | 93% |
Docket
Respondents represented by counsel: 94% (nationally, 81% are represented).
Most common nationalities: El Salvador (54.7%), Honduras (27%), Guatemala (13.7%), Ethiopia (1.4%), Syria (1.1%).
Official biography
Attorney General William P. Barr appointed Matthew J. O'Brien as an immigration judge in June 2020. Judge O'Brien earned a Bachelor of Arts in 1991 from the Johns Hopkins University,a Juris Doctor in 1995 from the University of Maine School of Law, and a Master of Arts in2018 from the Institute of World Politics. From 2016 to 2020, he served as the director of research at the Federation for American Immigration Reform. From 2014 to 2016, he served as a supervisory immigration officer, Headquarters Component, Fraud Detection and National Security Directorate (FDNS), U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), Departmentof Homeland Security (DHS), in the District of Columbia. From 2011 to 2014, he served as a senior advisor to the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services Ombudsman, DHS, in the District of Columbia. From 2008 to 2011, he served as supervisory policy analyst, Headquarters,FDNS, USCIS, DHS, in the District of Columbia. From 2003 to 2008, he served as assistant chief counsel, Institutional Hearing Program, Office of Chief Counsel, Office of the Principal Legal Advisor, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, DHS, in New York. From 1997 to 2003,he was in private practice, in Boston and New York. From 1996 to 1997, he served as a district adjudications officer with the former Immigration and Naturalization Service, Department of Justice. Judge O'Brien is a member of the Massachusetts State Bar.
In the record
He was fired under Biden. Under Trump, he's now leading an immigration court
NPR reports that Matthew O'Brien, who began as an immigration judge in a Virginia court at the end of the first Trump administration and was dismissed during his two-year probationary period under Biden, has been rehired by the Trump administration to oversee a court.
Other judges at Arlington
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.