Biography
Ashley Tabaddor (she/her) served as an Immigration Judge for over 15 years, until she was appointed as USCIS chief counsel in January 2021, as a member of the Biden-Harris leadership team. As an immigration judge she presided over the detained, non-detained, juvenile and mental competency dockets. Prior to her appointment to the immigration bench, she served as an assistant U.S. attorney for the Central District of California in Los Angeles, as a trial attorney with the Justice Department’s Civil Division in Washington D.C., and as a law clerk and attorney advisor for the immigration court and the Chief Immigration Judge. From 2017 until her appointment as chief counsel, Ashley Tabaddor served as the president of the National Association of Immigration Judges. She is the recipient of a number of judicial excellence awards. She received her B.A., cum laude, from UCLA, and her law degree from UC College of the Law, San Francisco, (formerly UC Hastings College of the Law). She was also previously an adjunct professor with a number of law schools, including George Washington Law School and the UCLA School of Law.