Shana W. Chen

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

StrictDenies more often than the national average+17.4 points

Asylum record, FY 2021-2026

Judge Chen80.3%

Newark court70.3%

All judges nationally62.9%

Decisions on the merits: 898
Asylum granted: 83
Other relief granted: 94
Denied: 721
Against own court: +10.0 pts

Denial rate by fiscal year
FY21	FY22	FY23	FY24	FY25	FY26
88%	90%	70%	71%	83%	74%

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

Docket

Respondents represented by counsel: 88% (nationally, 81% are represented).

Most common nationalities: Guatemala (21%), El Salvador (15.7%), Honduras (15%), Ecuador (10.4%), Brazil (6.3%).

Official biography

Then-Acting Attorney General Matthew Whitaker appointed Shana W. Chen to begin hearingcases in March 2019. Judge Chen ear ned a Bachelor of Arts in 1998 from the University of California, Berkeley, and a Juris Doctor in 2001 from the Georgetown University Law Center. From 2006 to 2019, Judge Chen served as an assistant U.S. attorney in the District of New Jersey. From 2004 to 2005, she was a judicial law clerk in the Southern District of New York. From 2001 through 2004, Judge Chen worked as a litigation associate at two private law firms in New York City, McDermott, Will & Emery and Curtis, and Mallet-Prevost, Colt & Mosle. Judge Chen is a member of the New Jersey and New York State Bars.

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 Newark

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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.