# John Cortes

Immigration Judge · [Phoenix Immigration Court](/kyj/court/az/phoenix-immigration-court)

Last updated October 7, 2026

## John Cortes at a glance

Current role

Immigration Judge

Court

[Phoenix Immigration Court](/kyj/court/az/phoenix-immigration-court)

Jurisdiction

Arizona · Federal

Judicial service

Active

Historical EOIR data

## Outcomes at a glance

Total outcomes

8,066

Relief granted

447 5.5%

Denied / removal ordered

5,070 62.9%

Other / procedural

2,549 31.6%

National comparison for this selection: 9,249,024 outcomes; 10.0% relief granted; 52.0% denied / removal ordered; 38.0% other / procedural.

Methodology and sources

These are proceeding outcomes, not asylum application statistics. Completion years use EOIR COMP_DATE; 2026 contains partial-year data. Relief granted, denied / removal ordered and other / procedural exhaust the recorded outcomes. Groups of one are included. Historical outcomes do not establish a current assignment. Counts describe recorded cases and do not predict an individual's result.

[Official EOIR case data](https://fileshare.eoir.justice.gov/EOIR%20Case%20Data.zip) · Source date: Tue, 01 Sep 2026 14:14:27 GMT

Asylum decisions and other statistics

## Analytics

Published EOIR records include 2,108 asylum outcomes associated with this judge. Asylum was granted in 321 (15.2%) and denied in 1,747 (82.9%); 40 were other or procedural outcomes. [Explore analytics](#analytics)

## Biography

### Professional career

- Current role: Immigration Judge, Phoenix Immigration Court, since March 2019
- John W. Cortes is an immigration judge at the Phoenix, Arizona Immigration Court, appointed in March 2019 by then‐Acting Attorney General Matthew Whitaker, with a record of high asylum denial rates compared to national averages
- Legal experience: Assistant District Attorney for Suffolk County, NY (2003–2018)
- Judge Cortes’s record places him in the lower quartile of national asylum grant rates Border Crossing Law Firm
- John W. Cortes is an immigration judge associated with the Phoenix Immigration Court in Arizona

### Education

- ’s cited overview reports his appointment in March 2019, a 1999 B.A. from Brooklyn College and a 2002 J.D. from New York Law School.
- City University of New York–Brooklyn College — B.A.

### Additional information

- Principal Assistant DA (2013–2018).
- It details earlier work in the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office from 2003 to 2018, among them principal assistant district attorney responsibilities from 2013 to 2018, and membership in the New York and Arizona bars.
- Bar admissions: State Bar of Arizona and New York.
- Denial rates vary by judge due to case mix, detention status, representation, and policy factors, not just judicial philosophy.

## 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

### Current EOIR official staff directory

Current EOIR Official Staff Directory source · HTML · Source checked October 7, 2026

[Public Records & Data Use](/public-records-data-use) · [Corrections policy](/corrections)


## 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.