Seventeen immigration court judges have been fired in recent days, according to the union that represents them, as the Trump administration pushes forward with its mass deportations of immigrants in the country. The International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers, which represents immigration court judges as well as other professionals, said in a news release that 15 judges were fired "without cause" on Friday and another two on Monday, the AP reports. The union said they were working in courts in 10 different states across the country—California, Illinois, Louisiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, New York, Ohio, Texas, Utah, and Virginia.
"It's outrageous and against the public interest that at the same time Congress has authorized 800 immigration judges, we are firing large numbers of immigration judges without cause," said union President Matt Biggs. "This is nonsensical. The answer is to stop firing and start hiring." The firings come as the courts have been increasingly at the center of the Trump administration's hardline immigration enforcement efforts with Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers arresting immigrants as they appear at court for proceedings.
Democratic Sen. Dick Durbin of Illinois alleged that one of the judges fired was essentially being punished for talking to him during a visit the senator made a few weeks ago to the Chicago Immigration Court. In a news release Tuesday, Durbin said the judge "took time to show me the court and explain its functions." He said after the visit, the judge received an email from the Justice Department telling her that all communications with congressional offices should be routed through headquarters and that immigration judges shouldn't be talking directly with members of Congress. "Her abrupt termination is an abuse of power by the Administration to punish a non-political judge simply for doing her job," said Durbin, who's the ranking member of the Senate Judiciary Committee.
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