California judge appointed by Biden administration in 2022 was fired by Trump administration, mid-hearing on Friday

San Francisco Immigration Judge Shuting Chen, 41, wept after being abruptly fired mid-asylum hearing via email on Nov. 21

Chen was halfway through a hearing for three Venezuelan siblings who had fled persecution and waited years for their day in court when an email labeled ‘notice of termination’ flashed across her screen

In tears, Chen told the attorneys, interpreter and asylum-seekers that she had been axed from her post and could not finish the case

Since Donald Trump’s second inauguration, at least 90 immigration judges have been terminated nationwide – most of them with backgrounds in defending immigrants

‘I don’t just mourn the loss of a job but also the disintegration of a system’ – Shuting Chen 

San Francisco Immigration Judge Shuting Chen [photo], wept after being abruptly fired mid-asylum hearing via email on Friday Nov. 21

A California immigration judge wept after being abruptly fired mid-asylum hearing, making her the latest victim of the Trump administration’s deportation crackdown.
Judges Shuting Chen and Jeremiah Johnson, of San Francisco immigration Court were fired unexpectedly when they showed up to work on Friday, November 21.
Shuting Chen, 41, of San Francisco, was halfway through a hearing on Friday for three Venezuelan siblings who had fled persecution and waited years for their day in court when an email labeled ‘notice of termination’ flashed onto her screen. 
‘I had a very emotional reaction,’ Chen, who was appointed under the Biden administration in 2022, said. 
‘I started to cry in my courtroom in front of the parties, which I always tried not to do, despite the traumatic nature of our jobs.’

Judge Chen was in the middle of a hearing at SF Immigration Court [photo], for three Venezuelan siblings who had fled persecution when she the email labeled ‘notice of termination’ flashed across her screen

The judge told the attorneys, interpreter and asylum-seekers that she had been fired from her post and could not finish the case.
For the siblings, the setback could now mean waiting years for another chance to appear before a judge. 
‘I’m an immigrant myself and I never took my role as a judge for granted,’ Chen says.
‘I don’t just mourn the loss of a job but also the disintegration of a system.’
Since Donald Trump’s second inauguration, at least 90 immigration judges reportedly, have been dismissed nationwide, most of them with backgrounds in defending immigrants.

At least 90 immigration judges have been terminated nationwide since Donald Trump returned to the White House, beginning within minutes of his second inauguration

Chen now joins four other judges dismissed this week without explanation, even as the immigration court backlog climbs to a record 3.4 million cases across the country. 
San Francisco’s immigration court is regarded as one of the nation’s most favorable avenues for people seeking refuge.  In the last month, the Department of Justice [DOJ], has slashed roughly one-third of the judges.
Adding to the tightening of immigration laws in the region, Immigration and Customs Enforcement [ICE], deported nearly 5,500 people from California alone, within the first seven months of this year.
‘My concern is that they’re trying to systematically dismantle the San Francisco immigration court, one judge at a time,’ Chen said.

In a separate incident Judge Jeremiah Johnson [photo], who was also fired on Friday, believes the DOJ is hinting at judges to ‘decide cases a certain way’ and ‘move faster with less due process’ 

San Francisco’s immigration court started the year with 21 judges. That number has been reduced to nine jurists.
‘If I had to speculate, I might say it was because San Francisco is thought to be one of those “liberal” locales and any judge holding court in such a place might have a liberal leaning,’ Julie Reddy Wiltshire, attorney for the Venezuelan siblings, added.
None of the fired judges judges has been replaced, even as the Trump administration is advertising open positions for ‘deportation judge’, a ole it describes as a chance to ‘help write the next chapter of America.’
‘I remain optimistic that people who are being brought on will not see themselves either as deportation judges, but as immigration judges, or just judges,’ Chen said in an interview after her exit. 

Amidst the bloodbath of dismissal of immigration judges in Trump’s second term, San Francisco’s immigration court which started the year with 21 judges, now has of only nine judges

Similarly, the Department of Homeland Security is also advertising the role on social media and urging applicants to ‘bring the hammer down on criminal illegal aliens.’
‘It’s meddling and interfering with real judges, our roles, our jobs, everything that we do,’ Judge Jeremiah Johnson, who was also fired on Friday, added.
While Friday’s news came as a crushing blow to Chen, who immigrated from China in the 1990s, she said she ultimately saw it coming.
As the DOJ continues to fire judges at a fast pace, her days and nights were consumed by hundreds of extra dockets and an ever-growing workload: ‘It’s not normal for people to be working such a traumatic job at the pace we’re asked to do,’ she said.
Nearly 25,000 cases are now set to fall on the remaining nine judges, a caseload Chen describes as ‘frankly inhumane.’
The wave of firings has also raised alarm bells through the courts, with many officials observing a dramatic shift in the system compared with previous years. 
‘I felt it was really disgraceful what happened to her,’ said immigration attorney Wiltshire who was present for Chen’s firing.

Immigration Rights advocates believe the selective firing of immigration judges is intentional and specifically designed to push judges to speed up deportations

New immigration regulations in the current administration has seen agents from ICE swooping on neighborhoods arresting immigrants. With the backlog of immigration cases, the DOJ is advertising open ‘deportation judge’ positions. Still with nearly a hundred immigration judges dismissed, none has been replaced

‘I, as an American, was embarrassed. It made me question the rule of law in this country,’ she added. ‘They seemed to be fair judges and do things according to the book.’
Wiltshire says she witnessed the government trying to dismiss asylum-seekers’ cases and deport them to countries they had never set foot in: Quite frankly, what’s happening is illegal,’ she said. 
Advocates for immigrants argue the firings are intentional and specifically designed to push judges to speed up deportations, according to the outlet.
They add that the administration may be replacing judges with military attorneys it believes are more likely to approve deportation orders, despite some lacking immigration law experience.   
‘I saw them as soft pressure,’ Johnson told NBC. ‘It was giving judges the hint that they should be hearing cases a certain way, deciding cases a certain way. Move faster. Less due process, essentially.’
Former Bay Area immigration Judge Kyra Lilien, like Chen, was also in the middle of a hearing when she was terminated in July.

Judge Chen [photo], views the Trump administration’s actions represent ‘an all-out attack on immigration court’, as she said ‘I don’t just mourn the loss of a job but also the disintegration of a system’ 

Judge Kyra Lilien [left], saw a termination notice flash across her screen as she sat down at immigration court in Concord to commence hearing in July. Elizabeth Young [right], then Regional Deputy Chief Immigration Judge, resigned shortly after Trump’s second term began

two former Bay Area immigration judges are giving an inside look at the upheaval and explaining why they believe the public should be paying attention. 
The judges sat down with NBC Bay Area’s Investigative Unit for a wide-ranging interview covering the termination of immigration judges, a wave of new policy memos concerning immigration court operations, and why they fear judicial independence is in jeopardy. 
“Honestly, it’s not easy to speak out and it’s a little bit frightening,” said former Immigration Judge Kyra Lilien, who was abruptly fired in July from her post at the immigration court in Concord shortly before completing her two-year probationary period.
Lilien, who was appointed by the Biden administration in 2023, said more than a dozen other judges from her probationary class were fired the same day as she recalls being in the middle of a hearing when an email hit her inbox informing her that she was being terminated.
“It makes no sense to eliminate high performing expert judges in the name of efficiency,” said Lilien, noting her history of exemplary performance reviews. “It’s just ludicrous.”
Former Judge Elizabeth Young, who served as Assistant Chief Immigration Judge in San Francisco before being promoted to Regional Deputy Chief Immigration Judge last year, ultimately resigned shortly after President Trump took office for the second time.
half an hours following Trump’s second inauguration, Young says her bosses were fired and she was reassigned from her post supervising immigration judges in the court’s western region. 
“I had no idea what to do,” Young said. “There was no precedent for this. It was shocking.”
‘It makes no sense to eliminate high-performing expert judges in the name of efficiency,’ Lilien said, adding, ‘It’s just ludicrous.’

Justice Dept. contends new policies are designed to enforce immigration laws the Biden administration ignored. San Francisco’s immigration court is seen as one of the nation’s most favorable avenues for people seeking refuge. DOJ slashed one-third of the judges last month

In Chen’s view, the Trump administration’s actions represent ‘an all-out attack on immigration court.’
The DOJ contends that its new policies are designed to enforce immigration laws it claims the Biden administration ignored.
Responding to the criticism, the DOJ said it is simply ‘restoring integrity to our immigration system and encourage talented legal professionals to join in our mission to protect national security and public safety.’