What is Judge Thomas Ayze's background?
EOIR's notice says that Thomas Ayze was appointed in May 2019. Judge Ayze earned a Bachelor of Arts in 1984 from the University of Florida and a Juris Doctor in 1988 from the University of Florida Levin College of Law. He retired as a lieutenant colonel and judge advocate from the U.S. Air Force in 2010. From 2008 to 2019, he served as an assistant chief counsel, Office of the Chief Counsel, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Department of Homeland Security (DHS), in Miami, Florida. From 2007 to 2008, he served as a fraud, detection and national security immigration officer with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), DHS, in Miami, Florida. From 2003 to 2007, he served as an asylum officer with USCIS, DHS, in Miami, Florida.
What does TRAC report about Judge Thomas Ayze'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 Thomas Ayze decided 898 asylum cases at Miami Immigration Court and denied 83.7 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 Thomas Ayze 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 Miami Immigration Court. The relationship is recorded as listed 2026-10-20; it may include supervisory coverage rather than a merits-hearing assignment.