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Two former members of the immigration bench have brought legal action against President Donald Trump's administration concerning their dismissals, asserting that they encountered bias based on their political leanings, gender, ethnicity, and prior affiliations with organizations advocating for immigrants.
Carla Espinoza, previously a judge in Chicago who was relieved of her duties with the Department of Justice the previous year, lodged a lawsuit on Tuesday, charging the federal authorities with dismissing her due to her history as an immigration lawyer, in addition to her race and gender.
Espinoza is among 113 immigration judges who have been terminated under the existing Trump administration, as indicated by the National Association of Immigration Judges. Her appointment as a judge occurred in August 2023, and she was terminated this last August.
As stated in the legal document, the DOJ’s Executive Office for Immigration Review started disseminating memos in early 2025 that depicted immigrant advocacy groups as "extremist" and pledged to “punish unlawful DEI preferences.”
Espinoza claims in the lawsuit that in the wake of policy modifications, the federal governing body “opted to terminate from EOIR a disproportionately large number of women, individuals of color, ethnic minorities, and those associated with them.”
A second ex-immigration judge, having filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration the prior week, alleged that the federal entity was driven to remove her from her post due to her political viewpoint, gender, age, ethnicity, and former ties with immigrant advocacy groups.
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The pair of former immigration judges were in provisional trial periods and contend within their complaints that the DOJ maintained a policy and practice where, after the completion of a temporary term, the agency would commonly convert that probationary judge’s status to a permanent immigration judge.
Kyra Lilien, who received her appointment as an immigration judge in 2023 and oversaw cases at the Concord Immigration Court in California, stated that her tenure concluded in 2025 without the anticipated switch to a permanent position.
As mentioned in the complaint, the federal power “commenced issuing multiple directives declaring the cessation of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (‘DEI’) endeavors.”
“The directive indicated that the Agency had examined the hiring documentation of every Immigration Judge engaged under the preceding administration and made claims that people of ‘particular backgrounds’ received preferential consideration over others,” Lilien’s lawyers communicated in the complaint. “The directive drew the conclusion that EOIR was ‘dedicated to addressing those injustices.’”
“Collectively, the directives exposed management’s animosity towards recruiting individuals with backgrounds in immigrants’ rights, women, ethnic minorities, and other individuals who might be regarded as ‘DEI’ hires,” her attorneys articulated.
ABC News has made attempts to contact the Department of Justice seeking their perspective.
Sourse: abcnews.go.com