Grade 4 of 5: Critical Rights and Rule-of-Law Concern
Immigration Judiciary Purge: 113 Judges Fired Without Due Process, Including Two Who Ruled for Student Activists
Over 113 immigration judges have been fired without due process since January 2025 — more firings in one year than in the entire prior history of the immigration court system. The April 2026 firing, without stated reason, of two judges who had dismissed deportation cases against pro-Palestinian activists signals to every remaining judge that ruling against the administration can cost them their post, undermining the independence of courts adjudicating life-and-death immigration cases.