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‘Climate of fear': Immigration judges say functioning of their court system is in jeopardy due to Trump’s firings
Government Executive ^ | 14/11/25 | Eric Katz

Posted on 11/19/2025 3:53:54 AM PST by Eleutheria5

he mass firings of the executive branch judges who run the nation’s immigration courts is leading to longer wait times for asylum seekers and other non-citizens, some of those who have been terminated said on Thursday, who described their dismissals as politically motivated.

The Justice Department, which runs the court system that adjudicates cases for millions of immigrants each year, has taken an aggressive approach to shed more than 100 judges since President Trump took office. That marks a significant reversal....

Justice has fired the judges without cause, three impacted employees said, and despite their receiving the highest possible performance ratings. The firings have impacted the work of the remaining judges, those fired said, even as they remain committed to impartiality.

“There's a climate of fear,” said Anam Petit, an immigration judge in Virginia who was fired in September. “Judges feel like, if they step a toe out of line right now…or they're one [asylum] grant away from being fired because of the arbitrary nature of the firings.”

The court system maintains a backlog of 3.4 million cases and immigrants are, in some instances, receiving appearance dates in 2027. To address that crushing total, the fired employees said, Justice requires far more judges, not fewer. They noted the One Big Beautiful Bill Act that Trump signed into law this year authorized the hiring of 10,000 Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers to ramp up arrests of undocumented individuals, but only increased the cap of immigration judges to 800. An increase in arrests would lead to a corresponding surge in cases before the Executive Office of Immigration Review, the Justice agency that houses the courts, and the relatively small increase in judges would likely not be sufficient to keep pace.

.....

(Excerpt) Read more at govexec.com ...


TOPICS: Crime/Corruption; Extended News; Government; Political Humor/Cartoons
KEYWORDS: administrative; aliens; anampetit; anamrahmanpetit; climateoftreason; deportanampetit; fear; immigration; judges; muslimjudge; ohnoanyway
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Do your f@#$ing job. You might get elevated and become a real judge, with Senate confirmation and everything.
1 posted on 11/19/2025 3:53:54 AM PST by Eleutheria5
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To: Eleutheria5

These fired judges likely thought there job was to bend over backwards to not follow US Law. That’s my guess.


2 posted on 11/19/2025 3:59:18 AM PST by Mustangman
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To: Eleutheria5

The huge backlog is evidence of underperforming or actually, performing as expected, by the regime which hired them. They thought they had a lifetime cushy gig, with a pension, at our expense.


3 posted on 11/19/2025 4:02:19 AM PST by The Free Engineer
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To: The Free Engineer

Exactly, just do the job, stop lollygagging and clear out the backlog, or Trump will hopefully fire more and just go to military courts.


4 posted on 11/19/2025 4:09:20 AM PST by Skwor
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To: Eleutheria5

Three impacted judges say… huge and serious


5 posted on 11/19/2025 4:09:53 AM PST by Track9 (Liberal tears make me smile. Thank you DJT!)
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To: Eleutheria5

Anam Petit. Well, she has big hoop earrings so there’s that.


6 posted on 11/19/2025 4:13:21 AM PST by Track9 (Liberal tears make me smile. Thank you DJT!)
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To: Eleutheria5

If they work for an executive branch agency, they aren’t judges.


7 posted on 11/19/2025 4:19:39 AM PST by jdege
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To: Eleutheria5

“ an immigration judge in Virginia who was fired”

lol. Yeah, fear of being required to do your job.


8 posted on 11/19/2025 4:20:12 AM PST by TheThirdRuffian (Orange is the new brown)
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To: The Free Engineer

And it’s the Executive Office of Immigration Review (EOIR), long notorious for being stacked with Democrat judges who freed far far more than deported and let controversial cases sit forever - hence the backlog.

An attorney once told me that the EOIR’s unofficial motto is “The case is never over until the immigrant wins.” Now that an Administration is seeking to correct that the wailing elevates.

But that agency DOES need either more staffing or less “customers” - as in streamlining the process by deporting prior convicted and known gangsters without court proceedings they don’t deserve in the first place.

Right after their DNA is sampled and a permanent chip or tattoo embedded. Disincentives work.


9 posted on 11/19/2025 4:21:46 AM PST by MikelTackNailer (imagines a world where sanity is the norm. LOL)
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To: Track9

The old saying on hoop earrings, the bigger the hoop the bigger the whore.


10 posted on 11/19/2025 4:26:13 AM PST by yldstrk
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To: Mustangman

The article omits to state that under the maladministration of President Joseph R. Biden other Immigration Judges were being fired if they did not rubber stamp asylum petitions for migrants. No joke.


11 posted on 11/19/2025 4:51:38 AM PST by PBRCat
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To: Eleutheria5
<>"“There's a climate of fear,” said Anam Petit, an immigration judge in Virginia who was fired in September. “Judges feel like, if they step a toe out of line right now…or they're one [asylum] grant away from being fired because of the arbitrary nature of the firings.”"<>

Wow! That almost sounds like a real, private sector, job.

The horrors!

12 posted on 11/19/2025 4:52:28 AM PST by Aevery_Freeman (Government is a cancer upon the host - keep it small!)
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To: Eleutheria5

Lol…its quite doubtful the firings are “arbitrary” looking at the backgrounds and history of some of the losers being used as lawfare tools to impede Trump and the will of the voters


13 posted on 11/19/2025 5:07:14 AM PST by silverleaf (“Inside Every Progressive Is A Totalitarian Screaming To Get Out” —David Horowitz)
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To: TheThirdRuffian

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=voEm3yMI8TM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pqzpQPDSr2s


14 posted on 11/19/2025 5:17:24 AM PST by Eleutheria5 (Every Goliath has his David. Child in need of CGM system. https://gofund.me/6452dbf1. )
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To: Eleutheria5

These judges fear far more of being held accountable for not doing the job they were hired to do, than they are of
“their court system” being placed in “jeopardy”.


15 posted on 11/19/2025 5:21:05 AM PST by glennaro (2025: The year of America's rebirth as a Great (and Free) Republic)
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To: Eleutheria5

The asylum seekers and other non-citizens that hopped over 3 continents and 9 countries to get to the USA can claim asylum in the first country they set foot on when they left their own shithole country.

This means every Central American coming here should be claiming asylum in Mexico, and those from South America should seek asylum in Panama. All the others should stay in Africa or Asia.


16 posted on 11/19/2025 5:29:56 AM PST by Flavious_Maximus (Tony Fauci will be put on death row and die of COVID!)
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To: Eleutheria5

“ “There’s a climate of fear,” said Anam Petit, an immigration judge in Virginia who was fired in September. “Judges feel like, if they step a toe out of line right now…or they’re one [asylum] grant away from being fired because of the arbitrary nature of the firings.”

Cry me a river. In the private sector people get fired or laid off all the time. Job performance doesn’t always matter either.


17 posted on 11/19/2025 5:37:54 AM PST by Made In The USA (One and Two and Three and Four and)
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To: Eleutheria5

Hey judges! Get a clue !

Rom 13:3 - For rulers are not a terror to good works, but to the evil. Wilt thou then not be afraid of the power? do that which is good, and thou shalt have praise of the same:

Rom 13:4 - For he is the minister of God to thee for good. But if thou do that which is evil, be afraid; for he beareth not the sword in vain: for he is the minister of God, a revenger to execute wrath upon him that doeth evil.

/

Want to get rid of your fear ?
Start obeying the laws instead of of facilitating breaking the ones you don’t personally or politically dislike.


18 posted on 11/19/2025 5:42:12 AM PST by cuz1961
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To: Eleutheria5

“There’s a climate of fear,” said Anam Petit, an immigration judge in Virginia who was fired in September. “Judges feel like, if they step a toe out of line right now…or they’re one [asylum] grant away from being fired because of the arbitrary nature of the firings.”

I would like to see more of this. There are too many judges that have become too big for their britches.


19 posted on 11/19/2025 5:42:50 AM PST by bk1000 (Banned from Breitbart)
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To: Eleutheria5

Follow the law. Apply the law to the facts. No one gives a hoot about your opinion.


20 posted on 11/19/2025 5:42:58 AM PST by yldstrk
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