In a historical development, the United States Department of Justice has appointed Sarjo Barrow, a prominent Gambian immigration lawyer, as an Immigration Judge.
Sarjo Barrow was appointed a federal immigration judge to begin hearing cases in May 2024 with 18 other new immigration Judges and two new appellate judges and was sworn in today at a ceremony held in Washington, DC.
Judge Barrow earned a Bachelor of Science, cum laude, in 2010 from John Jay College of Criminal Justice, The City University of New York, and a Juris Doctor, cum laude, in 2013 from Cooley Law School (formerly Western Michigan University, Cooley Law School).
From 2023 to 2024, he served as an assistant chief counsel at the Office of the Principal Legal Advisor (OPLA), U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS), in Baltimore. From 2019 to 2023, he served as an assistant chief counsel for OPLA, ICE, and DHS in San Francisco. During his time with DHS’s human rights program, he handled complex human rights violators and national security cases, prosecuted criminal aliens, individuals who provided material support to terrorist organizations, and individuals charged with persecuting others under the refugee statute. He also handled complex asylum fraud and waiver cases, firm resettlement bars, and asylum cases with red/yellow notices from Interpol.
From 2017 to 2019, he served as an immigration attorney at Lawton & Cates SC in Madison, Wisconsin. As a private practitioner, he represented noncitizens in U.S. immigration and nationality law matters in immigration courts and the Board of Immigration Appeals, civil rights claims, and constitutional matters in federal courts. He first chaired trials and appeals ranging from straightforward asylum claims to cases involving human rights violators’ claims and national security claims. He has litigated complex immigration detained cases involving, for example, lengthy criminal records, the firm resettlement bar, and novel particular social groups. Moreover, he litigated prolonged detention cases (habeas actions) and mandamus actions in federal court, including Padilla’s challenges in state courts.
Finally, from 2013 to 2016, he operated his law firm, Law Office of Sarjo Barrow, LLC, where he accepted appointed cases from the Wisconsin State Public Defender’s Office, represented noncitizens in removal/deportation hearings in detained and non-detained immigration matters, and immigration litigation in federal courts.
From 2013 to 2019, Judge Barrow accepted several pro bono cases as a private attorney before EOIR and DHS and was recognized by the State Bar of Wisconsin for his pro bono work.
