Samuel B. Cole
Immigration Judge, Chicago Immigration Court. Appointed August 2016 by Loretta E. Lynch.
Asylum record, FY 2021-2026
TRAC source →- Decisions on the merits
- 163
- Asylum granted
- 29
- Other relief granted
- 17
- Denied
- 117
- Against own court
- +22.8 pts
| FY21 | FY22 | FY23 | FY24 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 73% | 78% | 62% | 79% |
Docket
Respondents represented by counsel: 64% (nationally, 81% are represented).
Most common nationalities: Mexico (22.7%), Honduras (12.9%), Guatemala (7.4%), Venezuela (6.1%), Nicaragua (4.9%).
Official biography
Attorney General Loretta E. Lynch appointed Samuel B. Cole to begin hearing cases in August 2016. Judge Cole earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1995 from Rice University and a Juris Doctor in 1998 from the Harvard Law School. From 2003 to July 2016, he served as an assistant U.S. attorney, U.S. Attorney's Office, Department of Justice, in Chicago. From 1999 through 2003, he served as an associate attorney for McDermott, Will & Emery, in Chicago. Judge Cole is a member of the Illinois State Bar.
In the record
Immigration Courts Were Never Independent. Why the President Is Testing the Limits.
Samuel Cole, a former Chicago immigration judge, told Borderless he left the bench after the administration began pressing judges to follow orders: 'If I wasn't going to be an independent judge, I wasn't going to be a judge.' He is one of several former judges describing pressure to deny bond.
EOIR Swears in Five Immigration Judges
EOIR announced that Attorney General Loretta Lynch appointed Samuel B. Cole to the Chicago Immigration Court, where he began hearing cases in August 2016. From 2003 to July 2016 he served as an assistant U.S. attorney in Chicago.
Other judges at Chicago
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.