What is Judge Jose Penalosa's background?
EOIR's notice says that Jose Penalosa was appointed in April 2017. Judge Peñalosa earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1986 from the University of California, Los Angeles, and a Juris Doctor in 1989 from the Arizona State University Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law. From May 1993 to April 2017, he was a solo practitioner at Peñalosa & Associates P.C. From May 1991 to May 1993, he was an attorney with Friendly House Inc. in Phoenix.
What does TRAC report about Judge Jose Penalosa'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 Jose Penalosa decided 366 asylum cases at San Diego Immigration Court and denied 86.3 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 Jose Penalosa 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 San Diego Immigration Court. The relationship is recorded as listed 2026-10-20; it may include supervisory coverage rather than a merits-hearing assignment.