# Craig A. DeFoe Assistant Chief Immigration Judge · [Chicago Immigration Court](/kyj/court/il/chicago-immigration-court) Last updated October 7, 2026 ## Craig A. DeFoe at a glance Current role Assistant Chief Immigration Judge Court [Chicago Immigration Court](/kyj/court/il/chicago-immigration-court) Jurisdiction Illinois · Federal Judicial service Active ## Immigration proceeding outcomes No proceeding outcomes in this EOIR release are matched to this profile. Any separately published asylum statistics are available below. Asylum decisions and other statistics ## Analytics Published EOIR records include 1,636 asylum outcomes associated with this judge. Asylum was granted in 469 (28.7%) and denied in 1,161 (71.0%); 6 were other or procedural outcomes. [Explore analytics](#analytics) ## Biography ### Professional career - Current DOJ leadership page states Craig A. Defoe was appointed Acting Assistant Chief Immigration Judge in January 2026; current court directory lists him as the ACIJ for Chicago - Feb 2019-Dec 2025: Immigration Judge, Chicago Immigration Court - Immigration judge appointed in March 2019 to the Chicago Immigration Court, with a background in federal legal service at the DOJ, DHS, and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit - 2016-Feb 2019: Attorney, Office of Chief Counsel, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Chicago - 2009-2016: Trial attorney, Office of Immigration Litigation, DOJ Civil Division, Washington, D.C - 2007-2009: Staff attorney, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit, Atlanta - His work has been documented in EOIR’s public judge profiles and TRAC’s annual reports ### Education - Indiana University McKinney School of Law — J.D. (2007) - Washington University in St. Louis — B.A. (2004) - Washington University in Saint Louis — B.A. (2004) ### Additional information - Judge DeFoe has stated that he values the mission of immigration judges to “fairly and objectively apply and uphold the immigration laws” - He is a member of the Indiana State Bar ## Sources Identity source checked August 19, 2026 . Biography sources checked August 19, 2026 . ### DOJ EOIR current immigration judge directory Identity source · HTML · Source checked August 19, 2026 ### EOIR Policy Manual, Part II, Chapter 2.1 - Delivery and Receipt Courtwide source · HTML · Source checked July 30, 2026 ### EOIR Policy Manual, Part II, Chapter 2.3 - Documents ### EOIR Policy Manual, Part II, Chapter 3.10 - Interpreters ### EOIR Policy Manual, Part II, Chapter 3.11 - Courtroom Decorum ### EOIR Policy Manual, Part II, Chapter 3.12 - Electronic Devices ### EOIR Policy Manual, Part II, Chapter 3.15 - Individual Calendar Hearing ### Find an Immigration Court and Access Internet-Based Hearings ### Kansas City Immigration Court Current Court Identity, Location And Personnel source · HTML · Source checked October 6, 2026 [Public Records & Data Use](/public-records-data-use) · [Corrections policy](/corrections) - [Craig DeFoe — DOJ/EOIR current leadership biography](https://www.justice.gov/eoir/office-of-the-chief-immigration-judge) - [www.justice.gov](https://www.justice.gov/eoir/fort-snelling-immigration-court) - [www.justice.gov](https://www.justice.gov/eoir/chicago-immigration-court) - [www.justice.gov](https://www.justice.gov/eoir/omaha-immigration-court) ## Service record and verification - [Chicago Immigration Court](/kyj/court/il/chicago-immigration-court) · Assistant Chief Immigration Judge · Current · present - [Kansas City Immigration Court](/kyj/court/mo/kansas-city-immigration-court) · Assistant Chief Immigration Judge · Current · present - [Fort Snelling Immigration Court](/kyj/court/mn/fort-snelling-immigration-court) · Assistant Chief Immigration Judge · Current · present - [Omaha Immigration Court](/kyj/court/ne/omaha-immigration-court) · Assistant Chief Immigration Judge · Current · present - [Chicago Immigration Court](/kyj/court/il/chicago-immigration-court) · Assistant Chief Immigration Judge (supervisory oversight) · Current · present - [Fort Snelling Immigration Court](/kyj/court/mn/fort-snelling-immigration-court) · Assistant Chief Immigration Judge (supervisory oversight) · Current · present - [Kansas City Immigration Court](/kyj/court/mo/kansas-city-immigration-court) · Assistant Chief Immigration Judge (supervisory oversight) · Current · present - [Omaha Immigration Court](/kyj/court/ne/omaha-immigration-court) · Assistant Chief Immigration Judge (supervisory oversight) · Current · present ## Published courtroom rules ### Shared court rules - [EOIR Practice Manual 2.1 — Delivery and Receipt](https://knowjudges.com/courtroom-rules/national-shared-set-c9195b4f0bba01a19aa8df41) — Immigration Court proceedings only, not BIA or OCAHO. Preserve chapter-specific proceeding limits. Section-specific exceptions, waivers, later amendments and case orders remain applicable. This is a source excerpt, not an exhaustive statement of the rule. [Official source](https://www.justice.gov/eoir/policy-manual-eoir/part-II/icpm/chapter-2-1). Collected 2026-10-27. - [EOIR Practice Manual 3.11 — Courtroom Decorum](https://knowjudges.com/courtroom-rules/national-shared-set-8d8e8e8bf80478864645291a) — Immigration Court proceedings only, not BIA or OCAHO. Preserve chapter-specific proceeding limits. Section-specific exceptions, waivers, later amendments and case orders remain applicable. This is a source excerpt, not an exhaustive statement of the rule. [Official source](https://www.justice.gov/eoir/policy-manual-eoir/part-II/icpm/chapter-3-11). Collected 2026-10-27. - [EOIR Practice Manual 2.3 — Documents](https://knowjudges.com/courtroom-rules/national-shared-set-53ee093be24c18a5d1a93046) — Immigration Court proceedings only, not BIA or OCAHO. Preserve chapter-specific proceeding limits. Section-specific exceptions, waivers, later amendments and case orders remain applicable. This is a source excerpt, not an exhaustive statement of the rule. [Official source](https://www.justice.gov/eoir/policy-manual-eoir/part-II/icpm/chapter-2-3). Collected 2026-10-27.