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

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

Immigration judges

Shane E. Johnson

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

Asylum record, FY 2021-2026

TRAC source →
Judge Johnson81.8%
Seattle court73.9%
All judges nationally62.9%
Decisions on the merits
1,613
Asylum granted
261
Other relief granted
32
Denied
1,320
Against own court
+7.9 pts
Denial rate by fiscal year
FY21FY22FY23FY24FY25FY26
80%63%78%64%87%96%

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

Docket

Respondents represented by counsel: 74% (nationally, 81% are represented).

Most common nationalities: Mexico (27.8%), Guatemala (10.2%), El Salvador (8%), Venezuela (7.6%), Honduras (6.6%).

Official biography

Then-Acting Attorney General Matthew Whitaker appointed Shane E. Johnson to begin hearingcases in March 2019. Judge Johnson ear ned a Bachelor of Arts in 1999 from the University of Hawaii at Manoa and a Juris Doctor in 2002 from the University of Idaho College of Law. From1988 to 1994 he was a deep sea diver for the U.S. Navy, and from 2002 to 2018 he served as ajudge advocate, also for the U.S. Navy. Judge Johnson is a member of the State Bar of North Dakota.

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 Seattle

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.