What is Judge Richard Jacobs's background?
EOIR's notice says that Richard Jacobs was appointed in October 2018. Judge Jacobs earned a Bachelor of Arts in 1992 from Sonoma State University, a Master of Arts degree in 1994 from San Francisco State University, and a Juris Doctor in 2000 from the University of Miami School of Law. From 2008 to 2018, he was assistant chief counsel and then deputy chief counsel with the Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Department of Homeland Security, in Miami and Orlando. From 2010 to 2012, this service included being a special assistant U.S. attorney at the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida. From 2000 to 2008, he was an assistant state attorney with the Eleventh Judicial Circuit, State Attorney’s Office, in Miami.
What does TRAC report about Judge Richard Jacobs'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 Richard Jacobs decided 183 asylum cases at Jena Immigration Court and denied 80.3 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 Richard Jacobs 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 Fort Worth Immigration Adjudication Center. The relationship is recorded as listed 2026-10-20; it may include supervisory coverage rather than a merits-hearing assignment.