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

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

Immigration judges

Richard C. Jacobs

Immigration Judge, LaSalle Immigration Court. Appointed October 2018 by Jeff Sessions.

Asylum record, FY 2021-2026

TRAC source →
Judge Jacobs80.3%
Jena court81.6%
All judges nationally62.9%
Decisions on the merits
183
Asylum granted
32
Other relief granted
4
Denied
147
Against own court
-1.3 pts
Denial rate by fiscal year
FY24FY25FY26
54%84%91%

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

Docket

Respondents represented by counsel: 74% (nationally, 81% are represented).

Most common nationalities: Russia (18%), China (9.8%), Georgia (6.6%), Mexico (4.9%), Cameroon (4.4%).

Official biography

Attorney General Jeff Sessions appointed Richard C. Jacobs to begin hearing cases in October 2018. Judge Jacobs ear ned a Bachelor of Arts in 1992 from Sonoma State University, a Masterof Arts degree in 1994 from San Francisco State University, and a Juris Doctor in 2000 from the University of Miami School of Law. From 2008 to 2018, he was assistant chief counsel and then deputy chief counsel with the Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Department of Homeland Security, in Miami and Orlando. From 2010 to 2012, this service included being a special assistant U.S. attorney at the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Florida. From2000 to 2008, he was an assistant state attorney with the Eleventh Judicial Circuit, State Attorney's Office, in Miami. Judge Jacobs is a member of The Florida 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 Jena

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.