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

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

Immigration judges

Walter L. Paulissen

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

Asylum record, FY 2021-2026

TRAC source →
Judge Paulissen73.7%
Pearsall court82.8%
All judges nationally62.9%
Decisions on the merits
285
Asylum granted
44
Other relief granted
31
Denied
210
Against own court
-9.1 pts
Denial rate by fiscal year
FY21FY22FY23FY24FY25
42%57%76%89%84%

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

Docket

Respondents represented by counsel: 35% (nationally, 81% are represented).

Most common nationalities: Honduras (20%), El Salvador (14%), Cuba (13%), Colombia (7.7%), Venezuela (7.7%).

Official biography

Then-Acting Attorney General Matthew Whitaker appointed Walter L. "Bud" Paulissen to begin hearing cases in March of 2019. Judge Paulissen ear ned a Bachelor of Business Administrationin 1977 from the University of Texas at Austin and a Juris Doctor in 1980 from the University of Texas School of Law. From 2013 to 2019, he served as an assistant U.S. attorney in the Western District of Texas. From 2000 to 2013, he was the chief of Major Crimes in that office. From1990 to 2000, he served as an assistant U.S. attorney in San Antonio and Houston, Texas. From1980 to 1990, he was in corporate and private law practice in Houston. Judge Paulissen is am ember of the State Bar of Texas.

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 Pearsall

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.