15 Facts About Dana Sabraw

Dana Makoto Sabraw was born on July 3,1958 and is the United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of California.

Dana Sabraw was nominated by President George W Bush in 2003.

Dana Sabraw's father was a teacher of special-needs students and his mother taught English as a second language.

Dana Sabraw was born in San Rafael, California in 1958, and grew up in the Sacramento suburb of Carmichael, California.

Dana Sabraw received an Associate of Arts degree from American River Junior College in 1978, a Bachelor of Science degree from San Diego State University in 1980, and a Juris Doctor from the McGeorge School of Law at University of the Pacific in 1985.

Dana Sabraw was a judge on the North County Municipal Court, County of San Diego, from 1995 to 1998.

Dana Sabraw was a judge on the San Diego County Superior Court from 1998 to 2003.

Dana Sabraw was the chief judge on January 22,2021 until on January 22,2025.

In February 2018, Dana Sabraw was assigned a case in which the American Civil Liberties Union sued the Donald Trump administration on behalf of a Congolese woman who had been separated from her 7-year-old daughter in November when she presented herself at the San Ysidro Port of Entry seeking asylum.

In June 2018, Dana Sabraw denied the government's motion to dismiss the case, finding that plaintiffs alleged sufficient grounds to proceed with their claim that the policy violates plaintiffs' constitutional right to due process.

Later that month, Dana Sabraw entered a nationwide injunction ordering an end to most family separations at the border and requiring the immediate reunification of all children separated from their family members under the policy.

Dana Sabraw continued to oversee the process of family reunification, requiring regular reports from the administration.

In July 2018, Dana Sabraw suspended family deportations for one week, until family unifications could be completed.

Dana Sabraw distinguished these cases from those where he had earlier ruled against the Trump administration because their purpose had been to deter immigration across the southern border altogether.

Dana Sabraw is married to Summer Stephan, a career prosecutor with the San Diego County District Attorney's office who was elected District Attorney in June 2018.