Trump fires more immigration judges, including two who blocked student deportations

Listen to this article

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump’s administration has fired more immigration judges, including two who blocked the federal government’s deportation attempts against pro-Palestinian students, a union representing immigration judges said.

The National Association of Immigration Judges said on Monday that overall, six immigration judges were fired last weekend and three were fired on Good Friday.

“With these most recent terminations, 113 immigration judges have now been fired since January of last year without due process, cause or explanation,” the union said, calling the firings “wrong and unjust.” It was very rare for immigration judges to be fired before Trump returned to the White House, the union said.

Massachusetts judges Roopal Patel and Nina Froes had blocked the Trump administration‘s attempts to deport Tufts University Ph.D. student Rumeysa Ozturk and Columbia University student Mohsen Mahdawi, respectively.

The judges could not immediately be reached for comment. Patel, a Boston immigration court judge, and Froes, a Chelmsford immigration court judge, both received notice near the end of their standard-two year probationary periods when they were fired on Friday, they both told GBH News. Both were appointed during former President Joe Biden’s administration.

The Trump administration has pursued an immigration crackdown condemned by rights groups as being in violation of due ​process and free speech. Advocacy groups say it has created an unsafe environment ‌for ⁠minorities.

Trump has particularly cracked down on pro-Palestinian voices by attempting to deport foreign students, threatening funding freeze for universities where protests were held and ordering screening of immigrants’ online comments. The crackdown has faced judicial obstacles.

The Trump administration has openly criticized judges when have ruled against the government.

“All judges have a legal, ethical, and professional obligation to be impartial and neutral in adjudicating cases,” a Justice Department official said in a statement on Monday when asked about the latest firings.

“If a judge violates that obligation by demonstrating a systematic bias in favor of or against either party, EOIR (the Justice Department’s Executive Office for Immigration Review) is obligated to take action to preserve the integrity of its system,” the statement added, without providing evidence this occurred.

Trump alleges pro-Palestinian students are antisemitic and support extremists. Demonstrators, including some Jewish groups, say he wrongly conflates criticism of Israel’s assault on Gaza and its occupation of Palestinian territories with antisemitism, and advocacy for Palestinian rights with support for extremism.

Reporting by Kanishka Singh in Washington; editing by Aurora Ellis.