Sam Brown, IV

Immigration Judge, Houston Immigration Court. Appointed March 2019 by Matthew Whitaker.

StrictDenies far more often than the national average+33.0 points

Asylum record, FY 2021-2026

Judge IV95.9%

Houston court86.1%

All judges nationally62.9%

Decisions on the merits: 1,010
Asylum granted: 17
Other relief granted: 24
Denied: 969
Against own court: +9.8 pts

Denial rate by fiscal year
FY22	FY23	FY24	FY25	FY26
91%	95%	91%	97%	98%

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

Docket

Respondents represented by counsel: 75% (nationally, 81% are represented).

Most common nationalities: Honduras (26.5%), El Salvador (16.6%), Mexico (14.6%), Venezuela (10.7%), Guatemala (8.6%).

Official biography

Then-Acting Attorney General Matthew Whitaker appointed Sam Brown IV to begin hearingcases in March 2019. Judge Brown ear ned a Bachelor of Arts in 1999 from Emory Universityand a Juris Doctor in 2005 from Mercer University School of Law. From 2005 to 2007, heserved as a gun crime prosecutor for Project Safe Neighborhoods in the Macon, Georgia, Judicial Circuit. From 2007 to 2008, he served as an assistant district attorney in the Dublin, Georgia,Judicial Circuit. From 2008 to 2011, he served as an assistant district attorney in the Stone Mountain, Georgia, Judicial Circuit. From 2011 to 2019, he served as an assistant U.S. attorneyin the Southern District of Texas. Judge Brown is a member of the State Bar of Georgia.

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

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.