Attorney General Loretta Lynch appointed Judge Kaufman to begin hearing cases in June 2015. Judge Kaufman received a bachelor of arts degree in 1998 from the University of Arizona and a juris doctorate in 2002 from Arizona State University College of Law. From September 2006 to May 2015, Judge Kaufman served as assistant chief counsel, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Department of Homeland Security (DHS), in Tucson, Ariz. From 2004 to 2006, he served as an attorney, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, DHS, in Tucson, Ariz. From 2003 to 2004, Judge Kaufman served as assistant attorney general for the Washington State Office of the Attorney General, in Yakima, Wash. From 2002 to 2003, he worked as an attorney for Cetrus Consulting Group, in Seattle. Judge Kaufman is a member of the State Bars of Arizona and California, and the Washington State Bar.