Immigration Judges Speak Out on Unfair Firings and Due Process

Arbitrary Firings of Immigration Judges

• 🎯 Approximately 100 immigration judges have been fired, transferred, or resigned, with 20 judges let go in July alone.
• 📧 Three federal immigration judges, George Papus, Jennifer Payton, and Carla Espinosa, were fired via three-sentence emails with no stated cause or explanation.
• 😨 Judges expressed fear and concern, stating that the pressure made it difficult to remain impartial in their rulings.

Pressure to Rule in Specific Ways

• 🗣️ Judges reported being told to "Grant the motions to dismiss."
• ⚠️ Granting motions to dismiss left individuals vulnerable to immediate apprehension and expedited removal by ICE officers once they left the courtroom.
• ⛓️ CBS News has documented cases where ICE agents detained immigrants immediately after their court hearings concluded.

Impact on the Justice System

• ⚖️ With around 600 immigration judges remaining, the courts face a backlog of nearly 4 million cases.
• ⏳ The administration's focus on enforcement, rather than justice, is seen as a threat to due process and the rule of law.
• 🇺🇸 The judges argue that attacking the adjudicating judges undermines the rule of law, impacting not only immigrants but all US citizens.
• ❓ The concern is that if judges are attacked, the principle of due process could be denied to others in the future.