An immigration judge in California broke down in tears during a court hearing after being fired by the Trump administration, becoming the latest judicial casualty in a widespread purge of the immigration court system.
A Courtroom in Disbelief
Judge Shuting Chen, 41, was presiding over a crucial asylum hearing for three Venezuelan siblings in San Francisco when her professional world collapsed. Midway through the proceedings, an email starkly labelled 'Notice of Termination' appeared on her screen.
'I had a very emotional reaction,' confessed Chen, who was appointed in 2022 under the Biden administration, in an interview with NBC Bay Area News. 'I started to cry in my courtroom in front of the parties, which I always tried not to do, despite the traumatic nature of our jobs.'
Through her tears, the judge informed the attorneys, interpreter, and the asylum-seekers themselves that she had been dismissed and could no longer conclude their case. For the Venezuelan siblings, who had fled persecution and waited years for their day in court, this setback could now mean a wait of several more years for a new hearing.
A Systematic Dismantling
Judge Chen is not an isolated case. Since Donald Trump returned to the White House, at least 90 immigration judges have been terminated nationwide, with a significant number having backgrounds in immigrant defence. Chen is one of five judges dismissed in a single week without explanation, even as the national immigration court backlog hits a staggering 3.4 million cases.
The Department of Justice (DOJ) has been particularly aggressive in San Francisco, one of the nation's most favourable jurisdictions for those seeking refuge. Last month, it slashed roughly one-third of the judges in that court. The court began the year with 21 judges and now operates with a skeletal staff of only nine.
'My concern is that they're trying to systematically dismantle the San Francisco immigration court, one judge at a time,' Chen told the San Francisco Chronicle.
Shifting Ideology and 'Deportation Judges'
Advocates and the judges themselves see a deliberate pattern in the firings. Julie Reddy Wiltshire, the attorney for the Venezuelan siblings, speculated that the purge targets liberal-leaning locales. 'If I had to speculate, I might say it was because San Francisco is thought to be one of those "liberal" locales,' she said.
Simultaneously, the administration is advertising for new 'deportation judge' positions, framing the role as a chance to 'help write the next chapter of America.' The Department of Homeland Security has promoted the role on social media, urging applicants to 'bring the hammer down on criminal illegal aliens.'
Judge Jeremiah Johnson, also fired on Friday, interpreted this as a clear message. 'I saw them as soft pressure,' he told NBC. 'It was giving judges the hint that they should be hearing cases a certain way, deciding cases a certain way. Move faster. Less due process, essentially.'
This has led to fears that the administration is intentionally replacing experienced judges with military attorneys who may lack immigration law experience but are perceived as more likely to rubber-stamp deportation orders.
The Human Cost of a System Under Strain
The consequences are profound for those left behind. The remaining nine judges in San Francisco now face a deluge of nearly 25,000 cases, a caseload Chen describes as 'frankly inhumane.'
For Judge Chen, an immigrant from China who came to the US in the 1990s, the firing was a crushing blow, though not entirely unexpected. Her days had been consumed by an ever-growing workload as the DOJ continued its terminations. 'It's not normal for people to be working such a traumatic job at the pace we're asked to do,' she stated.
The DOJ defends its actions, with a spokesperson claiming the department is 'restoring integrity to our immigration system.' They contend the new policies are designed to enforce laws allegedly ignored by the previous administration, though no evidence has been provided that the Biden administration instructed judges on how to rule.
In Chen's view, these actions represent nothing less than 'an all-out attack on immigration court,' mourning not just the loss of her job, but 'the disintegration of a system.'
