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

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

Immigration judges

William L. Abbott

Immigration Judge, El Paso Immigration Court, El Paso Service Processing Center. Appointed December 1995.

Asylum record, FY 2021-2026

TRAC source →
Judge Abbott86.1%
El Paso - EPD court78.5%
All judges nationally62.9%
Decisions on the merits
144
Asylum granted
12
Other relief granted
8
Denied
124
Against own court
+7.6 pts
Denial rate by fiscal year
FY23FY24FY25
90%98%79%

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

Docket

Respondents represented by counsel: 28% (nationally, 81% are represented).

Most common nationalities: Venezuela (23.6%), Colombia (11.1%), Cuba (8.3%), Honduras (6.9%), Nicaragua (6.9%).

Official biography

Judge Abbott was appointed as an Immigration Judge in December 1995. He was assigned to the Immigration Court in El Paso, Texas, in September 2002, after serving seven years as an Immigration Judge in Eloy, Arizona. He received a Bachelor of Science degree in 1983 from Southwest Texas State University, and a Juris Doctorate from the University of Tulsa School of Law in 1987. After graduating from law school, Judge Abbott joined the Department of Justice through the Attorney General's Honors Program. From 1992 to 1995, Judge Abbott was a trial attorney with the former Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) in El Paso, Texas. He also served with INS as both sector counsel in El Paso from 1989 to 1992, and as a trial attorney in Houston, Texas, from 1987 to 1988. Judge Abbott served in the U.S. Navy from 1976 to 1982. He is a member of both the Oklahoma and Texas 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 El Paso - EPD

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.