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

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

Immigration judges

Nicholle M. Hempel

Immigration Judge, Houston - Greenspoint Park. Appointed April 2021.

Asylum record, FY 2021-2026

TRAC source →
Judge Hempel88.8%
Houston - Greenspoint court89.4%
All judges nationally62.9%
Decisions on the merits
591
Asylum granted
34
Other relief granted
32
Denied
525
Against own court
-0.6 pts
Denial rate by fiscal year
FY22FY23FY24FY25FY26
90%79%95%90%89%

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

Docket

Respondents represented by counsel: 77% (nationally, 81% are represented).

Most common nationalities: Honduras (28.9%), El Salvador (17.9%), Mexico (14.9%), Venezuela (10.2%), Nicaragua (8.3%).

Official biography

Nicholle M. Hempel was appointed as an Immigration Judge to begin hearing cases in April 2021. Judge Hempel ear ned a Bachelor of Arts in 1996 from California State University, Fresnoand a Juris Doctor in 2000 from Chicago-Kent College of Law. From 2010 to 2021, she serve das an Assistant Chief Counsel, Office of the Principal Legal Advisor, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Department of Homeland Security, in Los Angeles. From 2003 to 2010, she serve das an Assistant State Attorney with the Cook County State's Attorney's Office, in Chicago. From1998 to 2003, she served as a Law Clerk for the First Municipal District, Circuit Court of Cook County, in Chicago. Judge Hempel is a member of the Illinois 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 Houston - Greenspoint

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.