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

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

Immigration judges

Walter Hammele Ruehle

Immigration Judge, Buffalo Immigration Court. Appointed September 2016 by Loretta E. Lynch.

LenientGrants more often than the national average-10.6 points

Asylum record, FY 2021-2026

TRAC source →
Judge Ruehle52.3%
Buffalo court57.3%
All judges nationally62.9%
Decisions on the merits
745
Asylum granted
307
Other relief granted
48
Denied
390
Against own court
-5.0 pts
Denial rate by fiscal year
FY21FY22FY23FY24FY25
71%48%46%46%55%

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

Docket

Respondents represented by counsel: 94% (nationally, 81% are represented).

Most common nationalities: Guatemala (10.3%), Brazil (8.6%), Ecuador (8.2%), Venezuela (8.1%), Russia (5.8%).

Official biography

Attorney General Loretta E. Lynch appointed Walter Hammele Ruehle to begin hearing cases in September 2016. Judge Ruehle ear ned a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1976 from the State University of New York at Oneonta and a Juris Doctor in 1979 from the Union University Albany Law School. From 1993 to September 2016, he served in various capacities for the Legal Aid Society, including as an attorney, director of the Immigration Program, and director of the Upstate New York Immigration Law Project. From 1991 through 1993, he served as an associate attorney for the Law Offices of James J. Piampino, in Rochester, N.Y. From 1990 through 1991, he served as a staff and direct ing attorney for the Neighborhood Legal Services, in Hartford, Conn. From 1979 through 1990, he served in various capacities for the Farmworker Legal Services of N.Y., including as a staff attorney, supervising and mana ging attorney, litigation director, and legal consultant. In 2012 and 2013, he also served as an adjunct professor at the Cornell Law School. Judge Ruehle is a member of the Connecticut Bar and the New York State 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 Buffalo

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.