The Trump administration fired five San Francisco immigration judges Friday, according to multiple sources with direct knowledge of the firings, and has now terminated more than half of the court’s judges since coming into office in January.
It’s the latest move in a wave of terminations targeting immigration judges across the country, bringing the total number of fired judges in San Francisco up to a dozen.
According to the sources, the list of fired judges includes: Patrick Savage, Amber George, Jeremiah Johnson, Shuting Chen, Louis Gordon.
“Firing judges for doing their jobs is not about efficiency, it’s about control,” said one former San Francisco immigration judge speaking on the condition of anonymity. “There’s a name for that.”
San Francisco, according to the union that represents immigration judges, has been hit particularly hard by the Trump administration. Just nine judges remain listed on the court’s website, down from 21 in January.
“Their strategy here is to remove the current immigration judges, as many as they can, and replace them,” said Matt Biggs, president of the International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers (IFPTE), which represents immigration judges, in an October interview with NBC Bay Area.
The Executive Office for Immigration Review, which employs immigration judges and is part of the Department of Justice, has not yet responded to NBC Bay Area’s request for comment.
The firings come as the DOJ posted advertisements in recent days seeking to hire “deportation judges,” and listed San Francisco as a destination they’re looking to send new judges. The job posting also lists the immigration courts in Concord and Sacramento, as well as five others.
“Help write the next chapter of America,” the advertisement reads. “Apply today to become a deportation judge.”
“Make decisions with generational consequences,” the ad goes on to state. “Ensure that only aliens with legally meritorious claims are allowed to remain.”