Based in Buffalo, New York, Philip Montante has spent over 35 years as a judge in the United States Immigration Court. His experience in this position encompasses over 30,000 cases involving political asylum, the United Nations Convention Against Torture, fraudulent marriages, and the removal and deportation of foreign nationals who have been convicted of serious criminal offenses or committed other federal offenses. Philip Montante advanced to the role of Assistant Chief Immigration Judge in 2019, and was then elevated by the Attorney General of the United States as a U.S. Appellate Immigration Judge in 2020.
Judge Montante has spent a decade as a member of the President's Commission on White House Fellowships. He was initially appointed by President George W. Bush, serving from 2001 to 2008 and again appointed by President Donald Trump from 2018 to 2021. In this position, he advised on the selection of White House Fellows. He filled a similar role after being appointed by the Governor of Florida to a four-year term on the Judicial Nominating Commission for the 17th Judicial Circuit of Florida. As chairman of the committee, he oversaw the nomination process for the appointment of judges.
Judge Montante holds a master of science in education from Florida Atlantic University in Boca Raton, where he received the university's Outstanding Alumni Award. He was later a dean's list student at the Samford University College of Law in Birmingham. Before graduating with his juris doctor, he served as the co-editor of The Cumberland Lawyer, the law school's student publication.