Michael W. Straus
Immigration Judge, Hartford Immigration Court. Appointed August 2000.
Asylum record, FY 2021-2026
TRAC source →- Decisions on the merits
- 1,719
- Asylum granted
- 393
- Other relief granted
- 67
- Denied
- 1,259
- Against own court
- +9.3 pts
| FY21 | FY22 | FY23 | FY24 | FY25 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 86% | 69% | 56% | 62% | 81% |
Docket
Respondents represented by counsel: 89% (nationally, 81% are represented).
Most common nationalities: Ecuador (25.9%), Guatemala (16.1%), Brazil (13.4%), Honduras (11.2%), El Salvador (6.1%).
Official biography
Judge Straus was appointed as an Immigration Judge in August 2000. Prior to this appointment, he served as counsel to the Chief Immigration Judge from March 1997 to August 2000. He received an undergraduate degree in 1982 from Carleton College, and a Juris Doctorate in 1985 from Washington University School of Law. From 1993 to March 1997, Judge Straus worked as the senior adjudications officer and acting branch chief for the former Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) in Washington, DC. He also worked in the private sector as an attorney for Barst & Shusterman from 1988 to 1993. Judge Straus served as an attorney for the INS in Los Angeles, California, from 1985 to 1988. He is a member of the California Bar.
In the record
No published reporting or appellate decisions naming this judge have been collected yet.
Other judges at Hartford
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.