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

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

Immigration judges

Michelle A. Slayton

Immigration Judge, San Francisco Immigration Court. Appointed February 2023.

Asylum record, FY 2021-2026

TRAC source →
Judge Slayton31.0%
San Francisco court28.4%
All judges nationally62.9%
Decisions on the merits
533
Asylum granted
354
Other relief granted
14
Denied
165
Against own court
+2.6 pts
Denial rate by fiscal year
FY23FY24FY25FY26
19%20%40%57%

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

Docket

Respondents represented by counsel: 93% (nationally, 81% are represented).

Most common nationalities: India (22.3%), Guatemala (16.7%), Mexico (15%), El Salvador (8.8%), Nicaragua (4.3%).

Official biography

Michelle A. Slayton was appointed as an Immigration Judge to begin hearing cases in February 2023. Judge Slayton ear ned a Bachelor of Arts in 1994 from the University of Oregon and a Juris Doctor in 1999 from New England School of Law. From 2010 to 2022, 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 Portland, Oregon. From 2007 to 2010, she was a solo practitioner represent ing noncitizens in Portland, Oregon. In 2007, she was a contract attorney in the business immigration division of Tonkon Torp LLP in Portland. From 2002 to 2004, she practiced immigration law with the Law Office of Claudia Slovinsky PLLC in New York City. From 2001 to 2002, she was an associate in the business immigration division of Epstein, Becker & Green PC in New York. From 2000 to 2001, she served as an attorney advisor at the New York Immigration Court, entering on duty through the Attorney General's Honors Program. From 1999 to 2000, she served as a judicial law clerk with the Family & Probate Court of Massachusetts in Boston. Judge Slayton is a member of the New York State Bar and the Oregon State 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 San Francisco

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.