What is Judge Matthew W. Kaufman's background?
TRAC reports that Matthew W. Kaufman was appointed in June 2015. Attorney General Loretta Lynch appointed Judge Kaufman to begin hearing cases in June 2015.Judge Kaufman received a bachelor of arts degree in 1998 from the University of Arizona and ajuris doctorate in 2002 from Arizona State University College of Law. From September 2006 to May 2015, Judge Kaufman served as assistant chief counsel, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Department of Homeland Security (DHS), in Tucson, Ariz. From 2004 to 2006,he served as an attorney, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, DHS, in Tucson, Ariz. From 2003 to 2004, Judge Kaufman served as assistant attorney general for the Washington State Office of the Attorney General, in Yakima, Wash. From 2002 to 2003, he worked as an attorneyfor Cetrus Consulting Group, in Seattle.
What does TRAC report about Judge Matthew W. Kaufman'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 Matthew W. Kaufman decided 193 asylum cases at Denver Immigration Court and denied 39.9 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 Matthew W. Kaufman in 1 alphabetical row. The recorded title is Assistant Chief 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 Aurora Immigration Court; Denver Immigration Court. The relationship is recorded as listed 2026-10-20; it may include supervisory coverage rather than a merits-hearing assignment.