What is Judge Ian Simons's background?
EOIR's notice says that Ian Simons was appointed in September 2016. Judge Simons earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1998 from Michigan State University and a Juris Doctor in 2001 from the Michigan State University College of Law. From 2009 to September 2016, he served as an assistant chief counsel for the Office of the Chief Counsel, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Department of Homeland Security, in Detroit. From 2011 through 2013, he served as a special assistant U.S. attorney for the U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of Arizona, Department of Justice, in Phoenix. From 2001 through 2009, he served as an assistant prosecutor for the Oakland County Prosecutor’s Office, in Pontiac, Mich.
What does TRAC report about Judge Ian Simons's asylum decisions?
TRAC, a research center that began at Syracuse University, reports that for FY 2021 - 2026 (data covers the first 9 months of fiscal year 2026), Judge Ian Simons decided 975 asylum cases at Detroit Immigration Court and denied 58.8 percent, based on its report of Aug 27, 2026. These are past figures for one court. They do not predict your case, which turns on your facts, evidence, nationality and representation, and TRAC cautions against simple comparisons between judges at different courts. Read the full report at TRAC, and talk to a lawyer about your own case.
What the official record establishes
The source lists the name Ian Simons in 1 alphabetical row. The recorded title is Immigration Judge. The record is not an appointment history or an employment certification.
Dated court associations
EOIR’s court-specific tables associate this entry with Detroit Immigration Court. The relationship is recorded as listed 2026-10-20; it may include supervisory coverage rather than a merits-hearing assignment.