Matthew W. Kaufman

Matthew W. Kaufman was appointed as the EOIR Acting Deputy Director in December 2025.  Judge Kaufman earned a Bachelor of Arts in 1998 from the University of Arizona and a Juris Doctor in 2002 from Arizona State University College of Law.  From February 2019 to December 2025, he served as an Assistant Chief Immigration Judge in Colorado.  From May 2015 to February 2019, he served an Immigration Judge first at the Memphis Immigration Court (May 2015 to June 2018) and then at the Denver Immigration Court (June 2018 to February 2019).  From September 2006 to May 2015, he served as an Assistant Chief Counsel, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), Office of the Principal Legal Advisor (OPLA), Department of Homeland Security (DHS), in Tucson, Arizona.  From August 2009 to May of 2015, he served as a senior attorney with ICE, DHS, in Tucson, Arizona.  From September 2006 to August of 2009, he served as an Assistant Chief Counsel with ICE, OPLA, DHS in Tucson, Arizona. From 2004 to 2006, he served as an attorney with the U.S. Customs and Border Protection, DHS in Tucson, Arizona.  From 2003 to 2004, he served as Assistant Attorney General for the Washington State Office of the Attorney General in Yakima.   Judge Kaufman is a member of the State Bar of Arizona, the State Bar of California, and the Washington State Bar.