New York · est. 2013Thursday, September 24, 2026
Inside Immigration

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

Immigration judges

Sandra J. Santos-Garcia

Immigration Judge, Los Angeles-Van Nuys Boulevard Immigration Court. Appointed June 2016 by Loretta E. Lynch.

AverageClose to the national average-4.4 points

Asylum record, FY 2021-2026

TRAC source →
Judge Santos-Garcia58.5%
Van Nuys court60.4%
All judges nationally62.9%
Decisions on the merits
908
Asylum granted
330
Other relief granted
47
Denied
531
Against own court
-1.9 pts
Denial rate by fiscal year
FY22FY23FY24FY25FY26
45%48%33%36%93%

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

Docket

Respondents represented by counsel: 95% (nationally, 81% are represented).

Most common nationalities: Armenia (17.6%), El Salvador (14.3%), Mexico (14%), Russia (11.5%), Guatemala (11.3%).

Official biography

Attorney General Loretta E. Lynch appointed Sandra J. Santos-Garcia to begin hearing cases in June 2016. Judge Santos-Garcia earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1998 and a Juris Doctor in 2001, both from the University of California, Berkeley. From 2010 through 2016, Judge Santos-Garcia served as a senior attorney for the Office of the Chief Counsel (OCC), Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), Department of Homeland Security (DHS). From 2001 through 2010, Judge Santos-Garcia served as assistant chief counsel for OCC, ICE, DHS. Judge Santos-Garcia is a member of the State Bars of Arizona and California.

As published by the Executive Office for Immigration Review at appointment, via TRAC.

In the record

  • Executive Office for Immigration Review · 2016-06-27

    EOIR Swears in 15 Immigration Judges

    EOIR announced that Attorney General Loretta Lynch appointed Sandra J. Santos-Garcia to the Adelanto Immigration Court, where she began hearing cases in June 2016. From 2010 through 2016 she was a senior attorney for the Office of the Chief Counsel.

Other judges at Van Nuys

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.