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

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

Immigration judges

Sean D. Clancy

Immigration Judge, Memphis Immigration Court. Appointed June 2018 by Jeff Sessions.

Asylum record, FY 2021-2026

TRAC source →
Judge Clancy32.9%
Memphis court70.1%
All judges nationally62.9%
Decisions on the merits
292
Asylum granted
161
Other relief granted
35
Denied
96
Against own court
-37.2 pts
Denial rate by fiscal year
FY23FY24FY25
25%14%51%

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: Honduras (17.1%), Guatemala (15.8%), Venezuela (13.7%), Nicaragua (11.3%), El Salvador (9.2%).

Official biography

Attorney General Jeff Sessions appointed Sean D. Clancy to begin hearing cases in June 2018.Judge Clancy ear ned a Bachelor of Arts in 1993 from the University of Mississippi and a Juris Doctor in 1996 from Washington and Lee University. From 2017 to 2018, he worked as deputy chief for the Service Center Law Division, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS),Department of Homeland Security (DHS), in Dallas. He served as associate counsel for USCIS,DHS, from 2013 to 2014 in Burlington, Vt., and from 2014 to 2017 in Dallas. From 2010 to2013, he was special assistant U.S. attorney for the Department of Justice in Brownsville, Texas. From 2003 to 2013, he was assistant chief counsel for the Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Office of the Principal Legal Advisor in Harlingen, Texas. From 2002 to 2003, hewas assistant district counsel for the former Immigration and Naturalization Service. From 1998to 2002, he was assistant attorney general for Tennessee in Nashville. From 1997 to 1998, wasan attorney with Anderson/Clancy Law firm in Jackson, Tenn. From 1996 to 1997, he served inthe Peace Corps in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan. Judge Clancy is a member of the Tennessee 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 Memphis

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.