What is Judge Thomas B. Fighter's background?
EOIR's notice says that Thomas B. Fighter was appointed in May 2026. Judge Fighter earned a Bachelor of Business Administration in Finance in 2000 from the University of Miami and a Juris Doctor in 2006 from the University of San Diego School of Law. From 2011 to April 2026, he was the owner and chief executive officer of Fighter Law in Orlando, where he founded and managed a multi-practice litigation firm handling criminal defense, injunction proceedings, family law, and personal injury matters. From 2008 to 2011, he was an associate in private practice with Payas, Payas & Payas in Orlando. From 2006 to 2008, he served as an assistant state attorney with the State Attorney’s Office for the Ninth Judicial Circuit of Florida in Orlando. Since 2012, he has served as a judge advocate in the U.S. Army Reserve Judge Advocate General’s Corps, including as a special victim counsel, trial counsel, brigade judge advocate for 3rd Special Forces Group (Airborne) at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, deputy regional defense counsel with Trial Defense Services, U.S. Army Legal Command, and in the Office of the Staff Judge Advocate, Joint Task Force Guantánamo Bay, Cuba.
What the official record establishes
The source lists the name Thomas B. Fighter 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 Orlando Immigration Court. The relationship is recorded as listed 2026-10-20; it may include supervisory coverage rather than a merits-hearing assignment.
No outcome or personal-profile claims
This entry does not provide an asylum approval rate, predict a decision, or claim personal background not established by the cited source. Confirm the assigned judge and attendance details from your notice and the court. A change of judge does not by itself change deadlines or excuse attendance.