Two former immigration judges have sued President Donald Trump’s administration over their\u00a0removal,\u00a0alleging they were discriminated for political affiliation, sex, race,\u00a0and past association with immigrant advocacy groups.<\/p>\n
Carla Espinoza, a former judge in Chicago who was removed from her\u00a0position with the Department of Justice last year, filed a lawsuit on Tuesday accusing the federal government of\u00a0“firing” her based on her previous work as an immigration lawyer, as well as her race and sex.<\/p>\n
Espinoza is one of 113 immigration judges who have been removed\u00a0during the current Trump administration, according to the National Association of Immigration Judges. She was appointed as a judge in August 2023 and was dismissed this past August.\u00a0<\/p>\n
According to the filing, DOJ\u2019s Executive Office for Immigration Review began issuing memos in early 2025 that characterized immigrant advocacy organizations as “extremist” and promised to \u201cpenalize illegal DEI preferences.”<\/p>\n
Espinoza alleges in the complaint that following policy shifts, the federal government \u201cchose to fire from EOIR a disproportionate number of women, people of color, ethnic minorities, and persons associated therewith.\u201d<\/p>\n
A second former immigration judge who filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration last week alleged\u00a0the federal government was motivated to remove her from\u00a0her position because of her political affiliation, sex, age, race, and past association with immigrant advocacy groups.<\/p>\n
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<\/div>\n<\/div>The two former immigration judges\u00a0were in temporary probationary periods and\u00a0argue\u00a0in their complaints that the DOJ had a policy and custom that upon the completion of a temporary term, the agency would routinely convert that probationary judge’s status to permanent immigration judge.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Kyra Lilien, who was appointed as an immigration judge in 2023 and oversaw cases at the Concord Immigration Court in California, said her position ended\u00a0in 2025\u00a0without the routine conversion to a permanent position.<\/p>\n
According to the complaint, the federal government \u201cbegan issuing numerous memoranda announcing the end to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (\u2018DEI\u2019) efforts.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe memorandum stated that the Agency had reviewed the hiring materials of all Immigration Judges hired under the prior administration, and alleged that persons of \u2018certain backgrounds\u2019 were given favorable treatment over others,\u201d Lilien\u2019s attorneys said in the complaint. \u201cThe memorandum concluded that EOIR was \u2018committed to rectifying those harms.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cTogether, the memoranda laid bare management\u2019s hostility to hiring individuals with immigrants\u2019 rights backgrounds, women, ethnic minorities, and others who may be considered \u2018DEI\u2019 hires,\u201d her attorneys said.<\/p>\n
ABC News has reached out to the Department of Justice for comment.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n