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SF immigration judge says she was fired 48 hours after she questioned ICE’s treatment of asylum seeker
Confirmed
In Short: A former immigration judge in California has sued the Trump administration, alleging she was terminated without cause after raising concerns that federal agents had unlawfully detained an unaccompanied minor.
A former immigration judge in California has sued the Trump administration, alleging she was terminated without cause after raising concerns that federal agents had unlawfully detained an unaccompanied minor. Chloe Dillon, who served as an immigration judge in San Francisco for three years, said in her complaint that she was terminated last August despite receiving 'excellent reviews' and resolving thousands of cases with few appeals.
According to Dillon's complaint, immigration judges received a directive last April from the assistant chief immigration judge stating that all requests by the Department of Homeland Security to move a case to a different venue should be granted. The directive was contrary to previous court rulings that provided immigration judges with discretion to decide motions to change venue, Dillon's attorneys said in the complaint.
Dillon was fired 48 hours after she sent an email expressing concerns about ICE stating in motions that the immigration court was required to re-calendar asylum cases that had been closed, in order to allow ICE to pursue the removal of the asylum applicant. The former judge alleged in the complaint that in late August an individual who had been arrested by ICE appeared in immigration court and represented himself because he did not have an attorney.
Dillon's attorneys claim that the timing of her firing was too coincidental, as no other judges in San Francisco were fired that day, nor was her termination part of a mass dismissal. The policy at issue had come down last April, when San Francisco immigration judges were told that any and all requests by ICE to move a case to a different court venue should be granted. Dillon’s supervising assistant chief immigration judge then 'informed her that 'the White House' was watching the issue and cautioned her against resisting the directive,' states the complaint, filed in federal court in the Northern District of California.
What's confirmed
- A former immigration judge in California has sued the Trump administration, alleging she was terminated without cause after raising concerns that federal agents had unlawfully detained an unaccompanied minor. Chloe Dillon, who served as an immigration judge in San Francisco for three years, said in her complaint that she was terminated last August despite receiving 'excellent reviews' and resolving thousands of cases with few appeals.
- According to Dillon's complaint, immigration judges received a directive last April from the assistant chief immigration judge stating that all requests by the Department of Homeland Security to move a case to a different venue should be granted. The directive was contrary to previous court rulings that provided immigration judges with discretion to decide motions to change venue, Dillon's attorneys said in the complaint.
- Dillon was fired 48 hours after she sent an email expressing concerns about ICE stating in motions that the immigration court was required to re-calendar asylum cases that had been closed, in order to allow ICE to pursue the removal of the asylum applicant. The former judge alleged in the complaint that in late August an individual who had been arrested by ICE appeared in immigration court and represented himself because he did not have an attorney.
- Dillon's attorneys claim that the timing of her firing was too coincidental, as no other judges in San Francisco were fired that day, nor was her termination part of a mass dismissal. The policy at issue had come down last April, when San Francisco immigration judges were told that any and all requests by ICE to move a case to a different court venue should be granted. Dillon’s supervising assistant chief immigration judge then 'informed her that 'the White House' was watching the issue and cautioned her against resisting the directive,' states the complaint, filed in federal court in the Northern District of California.
What's still developing
- Dillon, who believes she was terminated in retaliation for whistleblowing, is one of more than 120 immigration judges who have been removed during the Trump administration's immigration crackdown, according to the union representing immigration judges.
- According to the complaint, Dillon looked at the individual's file again and noticed that he was "almost certainly a designated unaccompanied minor who could not be placed into expedited removal proceedings" and had a right to have his asylum case decided by an asylum officer.