Erica R. Hughes

The Honorable Erica R. Hughes is committed to bringing diversity and change to the justice system through Compassion, Integrity and Justice for all. Erica R. Hughes was appointed by Attorney General, Merrick Garland, as a U.S. Immigration Judge in 2021. She was the first African American Female to serve as presiding Judge of Harris County Criminal Court at Law # 3, serving from 2019-2021. She was the first African American and female Judge for Harris County Veterans Court from 2019-2021.

Born in Dallas, Texas, Erica received her B.S. in Electrical Engineering from Prairie View A&M University and her J.D. from Thurgood Marshall School of Law at Texas Southern University.

She joined the United States Army where she serves as a Military Captain and Attorney for the Texas Army National Guard, via the University of Virginia.
Erica has twelve years of experience as a solo practitioner with a specialty in Criminal and Personal Injury law.

Upon earning her Texas State Bar license, she joined State Farm Insurance within the Claims Litigation Center while also working as a Fee Attorney for a Title Company in Houston. Erica has a passion for teaching the law which is evident by her ten-year tenure as an Adjunct Professor at San Jacinto College in the Paralegal Department.

She also served as the Pre-Law Program Director at Prairie View A&M University. This program created a pipeline to increase the acceptance rate for minority students into the nine Texas ABA Law Schools. 

She is currently a United States Immigration Judge for the Department of Justice. Hughes is a sustaining member of the Harris County Democratic Party and a member of the State Bar. She serves as a board member for the Association of Women Attorneys Foundation. Since 2010, she’s been a Legal Advisor for San Jacinto Paralegal Student Association.

Erica is an active Youth Worship Director within Higher Dimension Church and a member of the Houston Alumnae Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Incorporated, an organization dedicated to the betterment of the community.