The Trump Administration on Monday fired eight immigration judges in New York City.
A fired immigration judge described the firings as a “Monday afternoon massacre.”
“The court has been eviscerated,” Olivia Cassin, another immigration judge who was fired in November told The New York Times. “It feels like a Monday afternoon massacre.”
The New York Times reported:
The Trump administration fired eight immigration judges in New York City on Monday, according to two people with knowledge of the matter.
The firings followed an earlier round of job cuts in New York immigration courts and are part of a broader disruption across the country, which is taking place as the president seeks to accelerate deportations.
They were confirmed by an official at the National Association of Immigration Judges, a union representing immigration judges, and a Justice Department official who requested anonymity because they were not authorized to speak on the matter. The immigration courts are under the control of the Justice Department.
All the judge were dismissed from the immigration court’s offices at 26 Federal Plaza, a building that houses the New York City headquarters for the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency and has become the epicenter of migrant arrests in the city. The eight judges included Amiena A. Khan, the assistant chief immigration judge at 26 Federal Plaza who supervises other judges there.
Before Monday, about 90 immigration judges had been fired this year across the United States, six in New York City. There are about 600 immigration judges nationwide, according to federal officials. Union officials said that 36 of the fired judges had been replaced nationwide, including two in New York.
More than 100 immigration judges have been fired or resigned since President Trump took office this year.