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

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

Immigration judges

Patrick J. Ehlers

Immigration Judge, Philadelphia Immigration Court. Appointed October 2020 by William P. Barr.

Asylum record, FY 2021-2026

TRAC source →
Judge Ehlers48.9%
Philadelphia court58.7%
All judges nationally62.9%
Decisions on the merits
268
Asylum granted
135
Other relief granted
2
Denied
131
Against own court
-9.8 pts
Denial rate by fiscal year
FY21FY22
58%36%

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

Docket

Respondents represented by counsel: 97% (nationally, 81% are represented).

Most common nationalities: Guatemala (22.4%), Honduras (13.4%), El Salvador (9%), Uzbekistan (8.2%), Brazil (6.3%).

Official biography

Attorney General William P. Barr appointed Patrick J. Ehlers as an Immigration Judge in October 2020. Judge Ehlers ear ned a Bachelor of Arts in 1989 from the University of Massachusetts Amherst and a Juris Doctor in 1993 from the University of Oklahoma College of Law. From 2015 to 2020, he served as an assistant U.S. attorney, in Portland, Oregon. Duringthis time, he also served as a resident legal advisor for the Department of Justice's Office of Overseas Prosecutorial Development, Assistance and Training in Kenya, Sri Lanka, and Malta. From 2003 to 2015, he served as an assistant federal public defender, in Portland. From 1999 to2003, he served as an assistant federal public defender in the Capital Habeas unit, in Oklahoma City. From 1996 to 1998, he served as assistant public defender for the Oklahoma County Defender's Office, in Oklahoma City. From 1995 to 1996, he served as a judicial assistant to the Honorable Charles S. Chapel for the Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals. From 1993 to 1995,he served as a capital post-conviction defense counsel for the Oklahoma Indigent Defense System, in Norman, Oklahoma. Judge Ehlers is a member of the Oklahoma State Bar, the Oregon State Bar, and the U.S. Virgin Islands 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 Philadelphia

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.