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

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

Immigration judges

Shelly W. Schools

Immigration Judge, Oakdale Immigration Court. Appointed October 2019 by William P. Barr.

Asylum record, FY 2021-2026

TRAC source →
Judge Schools77.3%
Oakdale court81.9%
All judges nationally62.9%
Decisions on the merits
238
Asylum granted
47
Other relief granted
7
Denied
184
Against own court
-4.6 pts
Denial rate by fiscal year
FY22FY23FY24
69%79%84%

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

Docket

Respondents represented by counsel: 50% (nationally, 81% are represented).

Most common nationalities: Nicaragua (18.9%), Turkiye (16%), Colombia (6.7%), Honduras (5.9%), Ecuador (4.2%).

Official biography

Attorney General William Barr appointed Shelly W. Schools to begin hearing cases in October 2019. Judge Schools earned a Bachelor of Science in 1994 from the University of Mississippi, a Juris Doctor in 1997 from the University of Mississippi, and a Master of Military Operational Art and Science in 2009 from Air Command and Staff College, Maxwell Air Force Base,Alabama. In 2019, she retired as a colonel from the U.S. Air Force. From 1997 to 2019, Judge Schools served as a judge advocate, prosecutor, defense counsel at the trial and appellate level,staff judge advocate, and trial judge in the U.S. Air Force at the following locations: Goodfellow Air Force Base, Texas; Bolling Air Force Base, District of Columbia; Maxwell Air Force Base,Alabama; Whiteman Air Force Base, Missouri; the Pentagon, District of Columbia: Little Rock Air Force Base, Arkansas; U.S. Air Force Academy, Colorado; Joint Base San Antonio-Randolph, Texas; and Travis Air Force Base, California. Judge Schools is a member of the Mississippi State Bar.

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

In the record

  • Executive Office for Immigration Review · 2019-10-11

    Executive Office for Immigration Review Swears in 27 Immigration Judges

    EOIR announced that Attorney General William Barr appointed Shelly W. Schools to the Fort Worth Immigration Adjudication Center, beginning in October 2019. The notice lists degrees from the University of Mississippi and Air Command and Staff College.

Other judges at Oakdale

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.