Durbin Meets With Former Federal Immigration Judges
The Trump Administration fired several of the Immigration Judges Durbin met with, and one resigned
CHICAGO - U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) today met with former Assistant Chief Immigration Judge (ACIJ) Jennifer Peyton, and three other Chicago-based immigration judges, some of whom were also recently fired by the Trump Administration.
“The firing of federal immigration judges is the Trump Administration’s most recent expansion of its cruel and harmful mass deportation effort,” said Durbin. “We cannot allow forthese fear tactics to weaponize our immigration system. That’s why I stand by Judge Peyton and the other experienced, non-political judges who have been fired for simply doing their jobs.”
Also present for the meeting were Judge Carla I. Espinoza, Judge Kristi Nelson, and a judge who wished to remain anonymous.
On July 3, Judge Peyton was abruptly fired without any state reason or cause. On July 11, Judge Espinoza was among the 15 judges across the country to receive a Notice of Non-Conversion, a Justice Department decision not to convert her to a permanent judicial appointment.
In March, Durbin led a bicameral letter to Attorney General Pam Bondi highlighting the Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR)’s alarming decision to fire immigration judges, with indications to fire even more, despite the immigration courts currently facing a staggering backlog of immigration cases.
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